Dierick(Dirk) Bouts was also called Stuerboudt.  The date of his birth is estimated to be between 1410 and 1420.  There is much controversy over the facts of his life.  He was established in Louvain about the middle of the 15th Century and was employed on various important works for the municipality.  He painted with more attention to detail of costume than grace or form, but was forceful in color and thorough in execution.  In these latter qualities he strongly resembles Rogier Van der Weyden and although it cannot be certain that Bouts was a pupil of Van der Weyden his style pointed so clearly to the influence of that master that this may be assumed.

There is a certain degree of uncertainty about any of the works attributed to him, as about any works of a master who had no powerful individuality to distinguish him from others of his times and school.  Many of the works now thought to be his were once attributed to Memling also.   

In 1465 Bouts married Katherine van der Brugghen, the daughter of a respectable Leuven(Louvain) family. He remained based in Leuven enjoying an excellent reputation as a painter. He is last mentioned in records dated April 17, 1475.  It is frequently difficult to draw a clear line between his own work and that of his workshop, including his son Dierick Bouts the Younger.  It is therefore impossible to make a fair assessment of his art.   

Written and compiled by Jean Ershler Schatz, artist and researcher from Laguna Woods, California.

Source:   
From the internet, Olga's Gallery