Why was Jan van Eyck important to the Renaissance?

Jan van Eyck was important to the Renaissance because he set new standards for the techniques employed by Northern European artists due to his incredible skill. While Italian Renaissance artists focused on capturing perspective and emotional expressiveness, the Flemish painter was more interested in showing things in exacting detail, so they looked as real as possible. His achievements in this detail and in conveying the differences between light and shadow would influence many other painters. On 1stDibs, find a wide range of fine art.