La pêche miraculeuse

1616

Joins the “Guild of the Poor Box”

Jordaens became a member of the Gilde van de Armenbus, a kind of insurance pool for artists with health problems.

15 May 1616

Marries his master's daughter Catharina van Noort

Jordaens married Adam van Noort's eldest daughter Catharina (other accounts call her Anna Catharina). At first the couple lived with or near his father-in-law; they had three children: Elisabeth, Jacob, who became a painter, and Anna Catharina.

1617

Daughter born: Elisabeth Jordaens

1618

Buys a home in the quarter where he grew up

Jordaens and his wife bought a home in the neighbourhood where he grew up: by some accounts, two adjoining houses on the Hoogstraat behind the house of the merchant Backx; by others, a house at Reyndersstraat 4. His father-in-law later moved in with them; here the painter set up his studio and spent nearly all his life.

28 September 1621

Dean of the Guild of Saint Luke

Jordaens accepted the post of dean of the Guild of Saint Luke on condition that he alone would cover the expenses of his term but would not be liable for the debts left by his predecessors. He held the post for only one year.

1621–1667

His workshop: fifteen pupils in the guild records

Between 1621 and 1667 the guild registered fifteen pupils with Jordaens (the best known being Jan Boeckhorst), and six more are named in court documents; his son Jacob and his cousin Arnoldus also trained with him. His fame drew foreigners: after 1642 the Polish painter Aleksander Jan Tricius became his pupil, and in 1645 Queen Christina of Sweden meant to send her protégé Georg Waldau, but the threat of war in Flanders prevented it.