Simon Bening
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Simon Bening (1483 - 1561) was a 16th century miniature painter of the Ghent-Bruges school. He has been called the greatest miniature painter of all time.
Bening was trained in his father Alexander Bening's miniature painting workshop in Ghent. He made his own name after moving to Bruges. His specialty was books of hours. However, he also created genealogical tables and portable altarpieces on parchment. He even created small scale landscapes, at that time a nascent genre of painting. He served as dean of the calligraphers, booksellers, illuminators, and bookbinders in the Guild of Saint John and Saint Luke.
He created books for powerful aristocrats, like Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, and royalty like Emperor Charles V and Don Fernando, the Infante of Portugal.
The artistic tradition continued in his family. His eldest daughter, Levina Teerlinc, became a miniature painter, and another daughter became a dealer in paintings, miniatures, parchment, and silk.
