Jan van Bijlert given name Jan
Biography
Jan 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.  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. From 1632 to 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.
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