Born on 19 May 1593 in Antwerp where he was studying under A. van Noort in 1607. He was admitted to the Antwerp guild in 1615. His work shows the profound influence of his Antwerp contemporaries van Dyck and (perhaps more markedly) Rubens, with whom he shared a commission for an altarpiece for the Augustinian church in Antwerp (completed in 1628).

He worked on the decorations for the Triumphal Entry of the Cardinal Infante into Antwerp in 1635. In 1636 he executed paintings for the Torre de la Parada after Rubens' designs and in 1639-40 for the Queen's House, Greenwich (a series of decorative panels, sold in 1649 and now lost). Following the deaths of Rubens and van Dyck in 1640 Jordaens became the leading Flemish painter, specialising in portraits and figure subjects (including tapestry designs), and maintaining a busy studio practice. He died in Antwerp on 18 October 1678.