Jan Mertens the Younger was a South Netherlandish painter. He was born in Antwerp about and died in the same city about 1527. His father was the sculptor Jan Mertens the Elder, whose family is thought to have originated in Tournai. Mertens the Younger was apprenticed to the painter Jan Gossart in 1505, and he became a master of the Antwerp painters' guild in 1509. He was the father-in-law (and perhaps teacher) of Pieter Coecke van Aelst, who married Mertens’s daughter Anna before 1526, and whose work has been used as the basis for the identification of Mertens with the Master of 1518

Master of 1518

The Master of 1518 is a Flemish painter belonging to the stylistic school of Antwerp Mannerism. A group of unsigned paintings is attributed to this artist on stylistic grounds, and his name is derived from the date inscribed on the painted wings of a carved wooden altarpiece of the Life of the...

, an Antwerp painter named after the date inscribed on the painted wings of a carved wooden altarpiece of the Life of the Virgin in St. Mary's Church, Lübeck

St. Mary's Church, Lübeck

The Lutheran Marienkirche in Lübeck was constructed between 1250 and 1350. For many years it has been a symbol of the power and prosperity of the old Hanseatic city, and as Germany's third largest church it remains the tallest building of the old part of Lübeck. It is larger than Lübeck Cathedral...

. The sharp focus, lively narrative and exaggerated poses evident in the painted wings in Lübeck are characteristic of Antwerp Mannerism

Antwerp Mannerism

Antwerp Mannerism is the name given to the style of a largely anonymous group of painters from Antwerp in the beginning of the 16th century. The style bore no direct relation to Renaissance or Italian Mannerism, but the name suggests a peculiarity that was a reaction to the "classic" style of the...

, but Mertens’s work is distinguished by its brilliant color, sense of structure, thoughtful composition and delicacy of style. Mertens formed an important link in the artistic dynasties of Antwerp, for his second daughter married first Jan van Amstel

Jan van Amstel

Jan van Amstel was a Dutch Northern Renaissance painter.In or before 1528, van Amstel moved to Antwerp, when he joined its Guild of Saint Luke. He married Adriane van Doornicke, who would after his death remarry and give birth in 1544 to the future painter Gillis van Coninxloo...

, now usually identified with The Brunswick Monogrammist, and subsequently Gillis van Coninxloo

Gillis van Coninxloo

Gillis van Coninxloo was a Dutch painter of forest landscapes, the most famous member of a large family of artists. He travelled through France, and lived in Germany for several years to avoid religious persecution....

.