This is the only known portrait of a black man in early European painting. Perhaps he was employed at the court of Emperor Charles V in Brussels. He had a black archer - Christophle le More - among his bodyguards. The Marian insignia on the cap is a reminder of a pilgrimage to Halle (Brabant), a favourite place of pilgrimage of the Brussels court.
Jan Jansz. Mostaert (Haarlem, ca. 1474 - Haarlem, 1552/53) was a Dutch painter. He was one of the first Northern Dutch painters known by name. This is mainly due to the extensive biography that Karel van Mander included of him in his Schilder-boeck. During the first half of the sixteenth century, Mostaert was the most important painter in Haarlem, following in the footsteps of Geertgen tot Sint Jans. Most Mostaert painted portraits and altarpieces. Although he soon fell into oblivion, his work was much appreciated in his own time. This is also evident from the eulogy of his contemporary Maarten van Heemskerck: Mostaert surpassed all the other old masters known to him in making good work.
