around 1470 -1533 · Oostzaan, Amsterdam and Northern Renaissance

Altarpieces, portraits, biblical stories and engraved wooden suites make Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen the first great Amsterdam artist known by his name, between Gothic and Renaissance tradition.

Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen was born around 1470 in Oostzaan, north of Amsterdam. He settled in Kalverstraat, where an act of 1500 attests to the purchase of his house and his studio. Amsterdam then had around ten thousand inhabitants but experienced a commercial and religious expansion which created a new market for images. Jacob became the city's first important painter and engraver known by name. His studio produced altarpieces, devotional panels, portraits, drawings and vast sets of engraved wood. This diversity made it possible to disseminate his inventions well beyond a single order. His studio produced altarpieces, devotional panels, portraits, drawings and vast sets of engraved wood. This diversity made it possible to disseminate his inventions well beyond a single order. His studio produced altarpieces, devotional panels, portraits, drawings and vast sets of engraved wood. This diversity made it possible to disseminate his inventions well beyond a single order. His studio produced altarpieces, devotional panels, portraits, drawings and vast sets of engraved wood. This diversity made it possible to disseminate his inventions well beyond a single order. His studio produced altarpieces, devotional panels, portraits, drawings and vast sets of engraved wood. This diversity made it possible to disseminate his inventions well beyond a single order the abundant narration of the end of Gothic. Gradually, architecture, nudes, ancient motifs and larger volumes bear witness to the Renaissance coming from the South. Jacob never abandons Nordic detail. Jewelry, brocades, plants, secondary faces and domestic objects maintain several levels of reading. Saul and the Witch of Endor, painted in 1526, combines a disturbing biblical episode with an extraordinarily concrete nocturnal scene. Christ appearing as a gardener to Mary Magdalene transforms the garden into a spiritual as well as earthly space. Christ appearing as a gardener to Mary Magdalene transforms the garden into a spiritual as well as earthly space. The Adorations allow him to bring together costume, architecture and crowds, while his portraits isolate the model with a new attention to the individual. His Self-Portrait also affirms the social conscience of the artist. The monogram of the studio, built around the idea of "Jacob of Amsterdam", functions as a true production signature. His sons, including Dirck Jacobsz, and his grandson Cornelis Anthonisz extend this dynasty; Jan van Scorel also works in his entourage. Jacob died in 1533. His work shows how Amsterdam became, even before its golden age, an autonomous center of creation. Jan van Scorel also worked in his entourage. Jacob died in 1533. His work shows how Amsterdam became, even before its golden age, an autonomous center of creation. The selection "Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen" notably compares Self-portrait and Saul and the Witch of Endor. His reading favors movement.

At Jacob Cornelisz, the image remains abundant like a Gothic altarpiece, but the artist, the studio and the new city of Amsterdam are already advancing there with a resurgent awareness.