Jan Van Mieris
Dutch, 1660-1690
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Jan van Mieris was a Dutch painter.
He was born in Leiden, the eldest son of Frans van Mieris the Elder. His brother Willem van Mieris was also a painter. Jan learned the art of painting from his father, and from Gerard de Lairesse in Amsterdam, where he learned to paint history pieces. In his youth, various sicknesses impeded him in the progress of his studies. His work was especially appreciated by members of the de la Court family.
Jan’s patron Petronella de la Court (1624-1707) owned three of his paintings, her son Adam Oortmans II (1662-1719) had four. He also painted portraits for this family, one of Petronella, one of her husband Adam Oortmans I (1622-1684) and one of their great-nephew Pieter de la Court van der Voort (1664-1739). The latter had two pairs of pendants, genre pieces, by Jan.
Around 1686–87, he traveled with Adam Oortmans II to Italy, presumably via Vienna, as the emperor had been a client of his father. The journey continued towards Venice, where Jan wrote a letter to his mother in January 1689. In it he tells that there was no interest in his work there and that he would go to Florence, where the fame of his father’s merit procured him a most honourable reception from Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
He then proceeded to Rome, where, reportedly, his abilities were already well known, and his works exceedingly coveted. In that city Jan found himself in the company of a group of young painters with a bad call, probably the so-called Bentvueghels, and his condition worsened, but he continued to work for as long as he could. He died in Rome. An account of Jan’s last days has been published by the painter Erasmus Causse (1660-1738) who also describes Jan’s funeral outside the city gate of Rome. More than 40 works by Jan van Mieris are known, including one that he painted in Rome, dated 1690.
Jan van Mieris was not only a painter, but also a poet. He made a rhymed translation of the play Aminta by the Italian stage poet Torquato Tasso (1544-1595) and wrote a number of poems, including one on a painting by his father and one on a doctorate from a friend at Leiden University. His motto was Horace's Ut pictura poesis, which means "as is painting so is poetry". His literary work is kept in the Leiden University Library. The paintings of Jan van Mieris are spread all over the world in various museums and collections. The Netherlands Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden has six paintings, including his large self-portrait.
