Early Life and Training Born: Mellebeke, Belgium (1548) Died: 1606 Karel van Mander was born into a noble family in Meulebeke, County of Flanders. He received his early artistic training under Lucas de Heere in Ghent (1568-1569) and subsequently with Pieter Vlerick in Kortrijk. Early on, he also engaged in writing religious plays and designing scenery for them. Travels and Artistic Development Rome (1574-1577): Van Mander spent three years in Rome, where he encountered classical art and developed his artistic style. The biographical sketch mentions him as the "discoverer of ca…