Jordaens, Jacob (1593-1678)

Flemish painter. His style follows Rubens, whom he assisted in various commissions. Much of his work is exuberant and on a large scale, including scenes of peasant life and mythological subjects, as well as altarpieces and portraits.

He was the pupil of Adam van Noort, whose daughter he married, and his development is parallel with that of Rubens, in whose studio he worked. He painted with immense gusto and might be called a coarser Rubens. After the latter's death he was the leading figure of Flemish baroque painting. Though he never went to Italy, he strongly reflects in some works not only the Flemish spirit but the lighting and gesture of Caravaggio, as in the Meleager and Atalanta (Antwerp). His vivacious earthy manner (in which Sir Joshua Reynolds found ‘neither grace nor dignity’) is well illustrated by The Royal Toast (Brussels).