Background
January van Bijlert was born in Utrecht, the son of the stained glass worker Herman Beernts van Bijlert. He may have had some training by his father.
January van Bijlert was born in Utrecht, the son of the stained glass worker Herman Beernts van Bijlert. He may have had some training by his father.
Subsequently he became a student of Abraham Bloemaert. Like other painters from Utrecht, he travelled in France and Italy. lieutenant was the custom among the Bentvueghels to adopt a nickname.
Van Bijlert"s nickname was "Aeneas".
During the years 1632-1637 he was active as deacon of the guild, and 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.
Bentvueghels]
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. In 1630 he became a member of the Utrecht Guild of Saint Luke and the Reformed church.