Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502 – 1550)
• Was a Flemish painter, sculptor, architect, author and designer of woodcuts.
• He was born in Aelst.
• Coecke van Aelst studied under Bernard van Orley.
• His principal subjects were Christian religious themes.
• He worked in Antwerp and Brussels.
• He was appointed court painter to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
• Pieter Coecke van Aelst married twice.
• Coecke van Aelst joined the local Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp in 1527.
• In 1533, he travelled to Constantinople where he stayed for one year during which he tried to convince the Turkish sultan to give him commissions for tapestries.
• This mission failed to generate any commissions from the sultan.
• Coecke van Aelst was a polyglot.
• He published translations into Flemish (Dutch), French and German of Ancient Roman and modern Italian architectural treatises.
• His students included painters such as Gillis van Coninxloo, Willem Key, Hans Vredeman de Vries and Michiel Coxcie.
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