Jan van Mieris

Jan van Mieris (17 June 1660 – 17 March 1690) was a Dutch painter.

Jan van Mieris, Portrait of an Artist, Smoking a Pipe, 1688, Kunsthalle Hamburg

He was born in Leiden, the eldest son of Frans van Mieris the Elder. His brother Willem van Mieris was also a painter. Jan learned the art of painting from his father and from Gerard de Lairesse. In his youth, various sicknesses impeded him in the progress of his studies. Around 1686–87, he travelled to Germany and Florence, where the fame of his father's merit procured him a most honourable reception from Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. He then proceeded to Rome, where his abilities were already well known, and his works exceedingly coveted. In that city his condition worsened, but he continued to work for as long as he could. He died in Rome.