The Annunciation

Pieter Coecke van Aelst, a multifaceted Flemish artist, was born in Aalst on August 14, 1502, and passed away in Brussels on December 6, 1550. His career spanned various artistic disciplines, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, architecture, and the design of goldsmith work, stained glass, and tapestries. Coecke's early training under Bernard van Orley in Brussels from around 1517 to 1521 laid the foundation for his diverse artistic endeavors. A pivotal journey to Italy in the mid-1520s exposed him to Renaissance art, profoundly influencing his style. Upon his return to the Netherlands, he joined the workshop of Jan van Dornicke in Antwerp, marrying his daughter Anna van Doornicke. The couple had two children before her untimely death. Coecke's personal life saw him fathering two more children with Antonia van Sant, though they never married. His professional achievements include a significant trip to Constantinople in 1533 to secure business for his tapestries, leading to his appointment as 'Painter to the Emperor' the following year. In 1537, he married Mayken Verhulst, with whom he had three children, including a daughter who would marry Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Coecke's legacy includes establishing a second workshop in Brussels in 1544, where he created large-scale cartoons for tapestries, some of which have survived and been restored, showcasing his enduring influence on Flemish art.