One of Haarlem’s most mysterious painting Heroes is Geertgen tot Sint Jans (Leiden (?) 1455/65 – Haarlem 1485/95). It is because of the exceptional quality of his work that he is seen as the founding father of Northern Dutch painting. Very little is known about his life and work. He lived with the monks in the Haarlem St Jan’s monastery, where he was buried after he had died at a young age. He is assumed to have been a pupil of the Haarlem-based artist Albert van Ouwater (ca. 1400/20 – 1475/95), one of the first Dutch painters to work with oil paint.

To date, twelve paintings by Geertgen tot Sint Jans are known, none of which can be seen in Haarlem. Thanks to a special loan from the RijksMuseum the work The Adoration of the Magi of this important pioneer and painting hero can temporarily be seen in our Museum’s Best Room.

On 11 December the book Geertgen tot Sint Jans – Het mirakel van Haarlem by Aart van der Kuijl will be published by the Haarlem publisher Loutje. The bound book contains 304 pages and is richly illustrated in color. The book will be available in our museum shop from 12 December.