Joest, Jan

Joest, Jan (b ?Wesel, c.1450/60; d Haarlem, 1519).
German-Netherlandish painter, often known as Joest van Calcar (or Kalkar), after one of his main places of work, Kalkar in the Rhine valley. It was there that he produced his masterpieces—twenty scenes on the life of Christ (1505–8) decorating the shutters of the high altar in the church of St Nicholas (in situ). These show the influence of Geertgen, particularly in their delicate handling of landscape, but they have a dignity that is personal. Joest was probably the ‘Juan de Holanda’ who painted an altarpiece of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin for Palencia Cathedral in Spain (in situ), commissioned by the Bishop of Palencia when he visited the Netherlands in 1505. From 1509 Joest lived in Haarlem. He was a significant figure in transmitting Netherlandish influence to Germany.