Jan Joest, also known as Jan Joest van Kalkar or Jan Joest van Calcar (between 1450 and 1460 – 1519), was a Dutch painter from either

Kalkar Kalkar ( is a municipality in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the Rhine, approx. 10 km south-east of Cleves. The catholic church St. Nicolai has preserved one of the most significant sacral inven ...

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

(both now in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

), known for his religious paintings.

Biography

Jan Joest was practically unknown until 1874, when two men, Canon Wolff and Dr. Eisenmann, established his identity. Not much of Joest's life is known beyond his paintings. He was the son of Heinrich Joest and Katharina Baegert, the sister of Derick Baegert, who was probably the first teacher of Joest. His greatest work, scenes of the life of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, were made between 1505 and 1508 on the high altar in St. Nicholai's Church in his hometown of Kalkar. Using documents found there, Canon Wolff discovered that, in 1518, Joest worked in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

for the Hackeney family, before leaving, most likely for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where he saw

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. Joest then returned North, and settled in Haarlem. It is possible that this is the same person as Jan Joesten van Hillegom that registered in the

Haarlem Guild of St. Luke The Haarlem Guild of Saint Luke was first a Christian, and later a city Guild for various trades falling under the patron saints Luke the Evangelist and Saint Eligius. History During the lifetime of Geertgen tot Sint Jans, there was probably a ...

in 1502 and who made a painting of St.

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary and saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands. He became the first bishop of Utrecht and died at Echternach, Luxembourg. Early life His fath ...

and St. Bavo for the

Egmond Abbey Egmond Abbey or St. Adalbert's Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Egmond, ''Sint-Adelbertabdij'') is a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation between Egmond aan den Hoef and Bakkum in Egmond-Binnen in the municipality of Bergen in the ...

. The last edition of Adriaen van der Willingen's work of Haarlem painters mentions the burial of an artist there called "Jan Joosten" in 1519. Two of Joest's apprentices were Barthel Bruyn (his brother-in-law) and

Joos van Cleve Joos van Cleve (; also Joos van der Beke; c. 1485–1490 – 1540/1541) was a leading painter active in Antwerp from his arrival there around 1511 until his death in 1540 or 1541. Within Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, he combines the tr ...

.Joos van Cleve
in the

RKD The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remembere ...

's ''Schilder-boeck'' mentions an Ioan van Calcker (

Jan van Calcar Jan Steven van Calcar ( it, Giovanni da Calcar, la, Ioannes Stephanus Calcarensis) (c. 1499–1546) was a Germany, German-born Italy, Italian painter. Life Calcar was born in the Duchy of Kleve, Cleves sometime between 1499 and 1510. Vasari re ...

), living in Venice as a disciple of

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

in 1536–7. Karel van Mander further claimed that he illustrated the book of anatomy by

Vesalius Andreas Vesalius (Latinized from Andries van Wezel) () was a 16th-century anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, ''De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem'' (''On the fabric of the human body'' '' ...

, and died in

in 1546.