Van Eyck: The Portraits

The first book in English devoted to Jan van Eyck’s pioneering contribution to the birth of modern portraiture.

The first book in English devoted to Jan van Eyck’s pioneering contribution to the birth of modern portraiture. Some stories do not have a beginning. Portraiture is one of them. It seems to burst onto the scene fully formed in the 1430s under the brush of Flemish artist Jan van Eyck. Pushing the possibilities of oil painting to convey a convincing illusion of reality, his portraits present us with individuals pulsating with life, every detail of their appearance captured. Van Eyck not only transformed the style of contemporary portraiture but also challenged the definition of who should be portrayed. The men and women in his paintings are not royalty or aristocrats but the artist’s relatives, affluent merchants and successful craftsmen. Rendering their likeness in meticulous detail, van Eyck immortalised these figures through vivid depictions and allowed them to speak to us through enigmatic inscriptions. This book will be the first ever published in English on the artist’s powerful portraits, accompanying a groundbreaking exhibition at London’s National Gallery. Exhibition ScheduleThe National Gallery, London 21 November 2026 – 11 April 2027Published by National Gallery Global Ltd/Distributed by Yale University Press