Bernaert de Rijckere (c. 1535 – 1590)

• Was a Flemish Renaissance painter known for his history paintings and portraits.

• De Rijckere was born in Kortrijk.

• The earliest documented work is a Calvary painted in 1560 for the altar of the rhetoricians in the local St Martin Church in Kortrijk where the work is still located.

• Shortly after the completion of this commission, de Rijckere moved to Antwerp where he joined the Guild of St. Luke as a master in 1561.

• De Rijckere appears to have had a close relationship with Anthonis Palermo, who was the deacon of the Antwerp Guild and was active as an artist as well as an art dealer.

• In 1563 he married Maria Boots, who was presumably well-off.

• He bought property in the Jodenstraat in Antwerp, where he lived most of his life.

• He would later buy more property in the Antwerp area, a sign of his prosperous circumstances. 

• He became a member of the Antwerp Chamber of rhetoric De Violieren in 1585.

• His sons Abraham and Daniel both trained with him. 

• De Rijckere died in Antwerp in 1590.

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