Hugo van der Goes

Hugo van der Goes (about 1435 – 1482) was a famous painter of the late 15th century He was probably born in Ghent, Belgium. He painted altarpieces and portraits. He painted his masterpiece, the "Portinari Tryptich" for a church in Florence. The painting shows the "Adoration of the Shepherds", a story from the Gospel of Luke about the shepherds who visited the baby Jesus on the night he was born. The painting influenced other artists of the Italian Renaissance because of its realistic style. 
Van der Goes became mentally ill on a visit to Cologne, Germany in 1481. On his way home, he tried to kill himself. His friends took him to a monastery in Belgium to recover from his illness, but he died in Auderghem a few weeks later.