Jan Hermansz van Bijlert (1597-1671)

• Was a Dutch Golden Age painter from Utrecht.
• One of the Utrecht Caravaggisti.
• He became a student of Abraham Bloemaert.
• Like other painters from Utrecht, he travelled in France and Italy.
• In 1621 he was, along with Cornelis van Poelenburch and Willem Molijn, a founding member of the circle of Dutch and Flemish artists in Rome known as the Bentvueghels.
• It was the custom among the Bentvueghels to adopt a nickname.
• Van Bijlert's nickname was "Aeneas".
• By 1625, he had returned to Utrecht, where he married and joined the schutterij.
• In 1630, he became a member of the Utrecht Guild of St. Luke and the Reformed church.
• During the years 1632-1637 he was active as deacon of the guild.
• In 1634 he was appointed regent of the Sint-Jobsgasthuis.
• In 1639, he helped form a painter's school, the "Schilders-College", where he served as regent.
• He died in Utrecht.
• His pupils included Bartram de Fouchier, Ludolf Leendertsz de Jongh, Johannes de Veer, Mattheus Wijtmans and Abraham Willaerts.
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