Allegory or The Triumph of Justice (1598)
Oil on copper, 56 x 47 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Hans von Aachen (1552, Cologne - March 4, 1615, German mannerist painter.

His name is derived from the place of birth of his father, Aachen in Germany. Other variations of the name include Johann von - and - von Achen and various concisions like Janachen, Fanachen, Abak, Jean Dac, Aquano, van Aken etc.

Von Aachen began painting in Germany as a scholar of the Flemish master E. Jerrigh. He then moved to Italy in 1574 to study further. He toured Rome and Florence, but eventually settled in Venice. He initially became a scholar of Kaspar Rems, but soon decided to develop his mannerist technique on his own, by studying Tintoretto and Michelangelo's followers. During all of his life though, he was influenced by the style of Bartholomeus Spranger and Hendrick Goltzius who dominated the art scene in Germany at the time.

He returned to Germany in 1588 and there won renown as a painter of portraits for noble houses. He painted several works for Duke William V of Bavaria. He married in Munich with Regina, the daughter of the composer Orlando di Lasso. From Munich he came into contact with the Imperial Court in Prague. In 1592 he was appointed official painter of Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor and gentled by the same in 1594. Von Aachen thus moved to Prague, though apparently only in 1601, where he stayed painting on commission from Emperor Rudolph II, and later for Matthias I.

Among van Aachens scholars were Peter Isaak and Joseph Heinz. His works have been etched at times by Wolfgang Kilian, Dominicus Custos and Jan Sadeler.

Sources

• Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie - online version (http://mdz2.bib-bvb.de/~adb/)