After five years of research, historian Dr. Lucas Van Dijck thinks it is almost certain. The brothers Van Eyck, two enthusiastic painters from the fifteenth century, would not have been born in Bergeijk in Brabant in the Flemish Maaseik. The researcher spent his days in the Bossche archives, looking for more instructions. Confirming remains difficult, but nothing has invalidated its theory yet.
Jan and Hubert van Eyck are two artists from the fifteenth century. For example, they made the Lamb of God, a masterpiece from 1432, with oil paint, wood and tempera. A world famous work that hangs in Ghent, Belgium and is made of detailed, beautifully colored palettes.
It is the showpiece of the Van Eyck brothers, of which it was always thought to be born in Maaseik. The brothers are in the list of grandmasters with Rembrandt and Van Gogh. Only historian Van Dijck thinks that their artists’ name, Van Eyck, refers to Bergeijk. Not on Maaseik.
He came up with the idea of investigating the brothers after he had been to an exhibition five years ago. The historian has a fascination for family trees and has previously written a book about the genealogy of Jeroen Bosch. He was not born with that last name, but “Koos” his artists’ name to make it clear to people that he was from Den Bosch. Van Dijck perhaps saw a parallel in that.
After some research in the archives, that turned out not to be a crazy thought. The historian came across a Jan and Hubert van Eyck, two brothers, who could be found in the Bossche archives of Bergeijk. “Only they also had a real family name: Bac. Descended from a rich, Tilburg family,” says Van Dijck.
Van Dijck disintegrated their life course through that road. That they would be born in a castle in Bergeijk, which was lost during the Eighty Years’ War. That they might be twin brothers. How many children they had, whom they got married. And that they died in Ghent and Bruges.
“I couldn’t find anything that goes against that theory.”
The timeline hangs together with deeds, certificates and documents. As far as it was possible, Van Dijck tried to make it hard to make it the same people as the famous artists. “Well, I couldn’t find anything that goes against that theory,” he says.
Nothing goes against the theory, but also confirming completely remains difficult. To reinforce it, the historian has bundled research in his book for many years. Not Maaseiks, but Bergeijks. That would be a loss for the Flemish.
“There are a lot of people angry with me.”
“There are a lot of people angry with me,” the historian chuckles. He has his book in his hands. ‘Lucas Didit’, is hidden in the cover. “Lucas said it,” in Latin. “But also the professors from the university in Ghent, who are very angry with me, have not been able to find anything to prove that I am wrong.”
They are not angry in Maaseik. In fact, the mayor was even with the book presentation. “I had written half-joking that I expected that the statues from Belgium would now move to Bergeijk,” says the historian. But the citizen father declined. “Although you are right a thousand times, those images will go to Bergeijk in less than a thousand years,” the mayor said.
“And rightly so”, Van Dijck responds. “Let it stand there.”
