Karel Van Mander (1548 -1616 )

Karel VAN MANDER (Meulebeke 1548 – Amsterdam 1606)

Karel Van Mander received his training in painters' studios in Ghent, Kortrijk, and Tournai, and subsequently spent several years in Italy. He was a painter, draftsman, tapestry designer, and writer. From 1583, he worked in Haarlem, where he was one of the founders of Haarlem Mannerism. His work comprises biblical, mythological, and allegorical representations with emphatically composed figures and poses. He was a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. In 1604, his Schilder-boeck (Book of Painters) was published, in which he combined painting theory with artist biographies and explanations of mythological subjects.