Dutch Painter, poet, art critic, and university lecturer Jan Veth was born in Dordrecht, Netherlands. He received his art education at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. After graduation, he worked with the painter Anton Mauve. He was best known as a portrait painter, most especially for his portrayal of Max Liebermann and other contemporaries including Lambertus Zijl, Frank van der Goes, and Antoon Derkinderen.

Veth was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1923, and died in Amsterdam two years later.