Jan Willems

Jan Willems (fl 15201547/1548) was a Flemish painter of religious works as well as a polychromer and a designer of large figures used in processions. He was the city painter of Leuven where he spent his entire known career.

Life Not much is known about the life of Jan Willems. He was the son of the painter Jan Willems the Elder. His father was likely his teacher. His brother Peter was also a painter. In 15th-16th century Leuven there were a few of these artists' families such as the families Bouts, Willems and Rombouts. The craft was often passed on from father to son: sons learned the trade in the workshop of the father, stayed on as a servant or master-servant and took over the workshop after the death of their father. In that capacity he received a number of commissions from the city, especially in relation to the decorations for the annual Ommegang, as well as for other decorative projects of a temporary nature.

With the help of assistants, Willems created the figure of the giant Megera for its first appearance in the Ommegang of Leuven of 1532. He received the commission to restore the painting of the Last Judgment by Dieric Bouts in the Leuven town hall. Other works by his hand have not been preserved. In addition to his work as a city painter, Willems carried out various assignments for the clergy. For the Saint Quentin's Church in Leuven, Jan Willems painted the predella and the side panels of a sculpted retable of Saint Quentin, that had been commissioned in 1538 from the Leuven sculptor Joris Asselijns. Willems was also tasked with the polychroming of the sculpture. His style is in line with that of Antwerp mannerists such as the Master of 1518 and Pieter Coecke van Aelst.