WEYDEN, Rogier van der Netherlandish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1400-1464
major early Flemish master, known also as Roger de la Pasture. He is believed to have studied with Robert Campin. His early works also show the influence of Jan van Eyck. Van Eyck, however, had been a master at objective rendering of detail, whereas Roger in his work portrayed emotions with an assurance that has not been surpassed. His ability to depict piety is reflected in the early masterpiece Descent from the Cross (c.1435; Prado); he depicted with significant restraint the profound grief of the mourners grouped around the tragic figure of Jesus. His composition strongly affected later representations of the theme. Roger became City Painter in Brussels in 1436. He then produced a series of undated altarpieces including the Last Judgment (hospital, Beaune), the Braque Triptych (Louvre), Crucifixion with Donors (Vienna), and Adoration of the Magi (Berlin), which vary in execution from a stress on sumptuous details to a more sculptural rendering of the figures. Roger is believed to have made a pilgrimage to Italy in the holy year 1450. Whether this supposed excursion had any effect on his style is much debated. It has been shown that his Entombment (Uffizi) bears an affinity to the Tuscan treatment of the subject, particularly by Fra Angelico, and that Roger's Virgin and Child with Saints (Frankfurt) has a strong resemblance to the Italian religious art of the day. His style is, however, highly individual. His religious paintings and his portraits are characterized by a straightforward monumentality. The portraits, such as that of a young lady (National Gall. of Art, Washington, D.C.) and of Francesco d'Este (Metropolitan Mus.) exhibit a simple clarity of contour and psychological penetration. Other notable works are his St. Luke Painting the Virgin, of which a version or replica is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Crucifixion
The Last Judgment 1446-52 Oil on wood Mus?e de l'H?tel Dieu, Beaune The detail shows a group of the damned. In Van der Weyden's time it was believed that lunatics were possessed by demons. Here, the figures of the damned are tortured and deformed by hatred and their faces distorted by madness. Gripped by a collective hysteria, they are unable to weep, but instead scream and fight, as their folly draws them on towards eternal punishment.Artist:WEYDEN, Rogier van der Title: The Last Judgment (detail) Painted in 1401-1450 , Flemish - - painting : religious Painting ID:: 63858
WEYDEN, Rogier van der The Last Judgment 1446-52 Oil on wood Mus?e de l'H?tel Dieu, Beaune The detail shows a group of the damned. In Van der Weyden's time it was believed that lunatics were possessed by demons. Here, the figures of the damned are tortured and deformed by hatred and their faces distorted by madness. Gripped by a collective hysteria, they are unable to weep, but instead scream and fight, as their folly draws them on towards eternal punishment.Artist:WEYDEN, Rogier van der Title: The Last Judgment (detail) Painted in 1401-1450 , Flemish - - painting : religious
Portrait Diptych of Jean de Gros 1450s Oil on oak panel, 36 x 27 cm Mus?e des Beaux-Arts, Tournai Of the Madonnas in the portrait diptychs, the most interesting is the one accompanying the Portrait of Jean de Gros (Art Institute, Chicago). She represents one of the early types of half length figures of the Virgin, which were used in many pictures by Rogier's successors, and copied with what are often only very slight deviations. The head of Mary in particular recurs almost unchanged in many pictures from Rogier's workshop or by his close colleagues, and has come down to us, for instance, in a drawing that was intended as the model for a painting (Mus?e du Louvre, Paris). This panel of the Madonna formed a diptych with the portrait of Jean de Gros; both have the donor's motto and emblem on the back. The painting has suffered from its poor state of preservation, and may perhaps be by a workshop assistant.Artist:WEYDEN, Rogier van der Title: Portrait Diptych of Jean de Gros (left wing) Painted in 1401-1450 , Flemish - - painting : religious Painting ID:: 63860
WEYDEN, Rogier van der Portrait Diptych of Jean de Gros 1450s Oil on oak panel, 36 x 27 cm Mus?e des Beaux-Arts, Tournai Of the Madonnas in the portrait diptychs, the most interesting is the one accompanying the Portrait of Jean de Gros (Art Institute, Chicago). She represents one of the early types of half length figures of the Virgin, which were used in many pictures by Rogier's successors, and copied with what are often only very slight deviations. The head of Mary in particular recurs almost unchanged in many pictures from Rogier's workshop or by his close colleagues, and has come down to us, for instance, in a drawing that was intended as the model for a painting (Mus?e du Louvre, Paris). This panel of the Madonna formed a diptych with the portrait of Jean de Gros; both have the donor's motto and emblem on the back. The painting has suffered from its poor state of preservation, and may perhaps be by a workshop assistant.Artist:WEYDEN, Rogier van der Title: Portrait Diptych of Jean de Gros (left wing) Painted in 1401-1450 , Flemish - - painting : religious
St John Altarpiece 1455-60 Oil on oak panel, 77 x 48 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin The left panel depicts the Naming of John the Baptist. Elisabeth lies in bed in the background after giving birth, while the pregnant Mary, the future mother of Jesus, brings the newborn child to his father Zacharias. Zacharias had been struck dumb for his doubts when an angel told him, during service in the temple, that he was to be the father of a son (this scene is shown in the lowest archivolt relief on the left). He therefore has to write down the name of the child. Mary, as the more important saint, is distinguished from Zacharias and Elisabeth by her aureole. The side panels of the St John Altarpiece do not merely show the beginning and end of the Baptist's earthly life. The parallels between the pictorial motifs also express moral conflict. On the left, the chaste Virgin Mary holds the newborn baby in her arms; she and Zacharias are looking at one another gravely, aware of the significance of the event.Artist:WEYDEN, Rogier van der Title: St John Altarpiece (left panel) Painted in 1401-1450 , Flemish - - painting : religious Painting ID:: 63861
WEYDEN, Rogier van der St John Altarpiece 1455-60 Oil on oak panel, 77 x 48 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin The left panel depicts the Naming of John the Baptist. Elisabeth lies in bed in the background after giving birth, while the pregnant Mary, the future mother of Jesus, brings the newborn child to his father Zacharias. Zacharias had been struck dumb for his doubts when an angel told him, during service in the temple, that he was to be the father of a son (this scene is shown in the lowest archivolt relief on the left). He therefore has to write down the name of the child. Mary, as the more important saint, is distinguished from Zacharias and Elisabeth by her aureole. The side panels of the St John Altarpiece do not merely show the beginning and end of the Baptist's earthly life. The parallels between the pictorial motifs also express moral conflict. On the left, the chaste Virgin Mary holds the newborn baby in her arms; she and Zacharias are looking at one another gravely, aware of the significance of the event.Artist:WEYDEN, Rogier van der Title: St John Altarpiece (left panel) Painted in 1401-1450 , Flemish - - painting : religious
Portrait Diptych of Philippe de Croy 1460 Oil on oak panel, 49 x 30 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp Philippe de Croy's coat of arms surmounted by a helmet is framed, above, by the name of the subject of the portrait, and below by his title "Seigneur de Sempy." He bore this title from around 1452, but resigned it again in 1461. The painting must therefore have been done within that period. On the left, a vertical board in the panel has been renovated.Artist:WEYDEN, Rogier van der Title: Portrait Diptych of Philippe de Croy (reverse side) Painted in 1401-1450 , Flemish - - painting : other Painting ID:: 63863
WEYDEN, Rogier van der Portrait Diptych of Philippe de Croy 1460 Oil on oak panel, 49 x 30 cm Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp Philippe de Croy's coat of arms surmounted by a helmet is framed, above, by the name of the subject of the portrait, and below by his title "Seigneur de Sempy." He bore this title from around 1452, but resigned it again in 1461. The painting must therefore have been done within that period. On the left, a vertical board in the panel has been renovated.Artist:WEYDEN, Rogier van der Title: Portrait Diptych of Philippe de Croy (reverse side) Painted in 1401-1450 , Flemish - - painting : other
Netherlandish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1400-1464
major early Flemish master, known also as Roger de la Pasture. He is believed to have studied with Robert Campin. His early works also show the influence of Jan van Eyck. Van Eyck, however, had been a master at objective rendering of detail, whereas Roger in his work portrayed emotions with an assurance that has not been surpassed. His ability to depict piety is reflected in the early masterpiece Descent from the Cross (c.1435; Prado); he depicted with significant restraint the profound grief of the mourners grouped around the tragic figure of Jesus. His composition strongly affected later representations of the theme. Roger became City Painter in Brussels in 1436. He then produced a series of undated altarpieces including the Last Judgment (hospital, Beaune), the Braque Triptych (Louvre), Crucifixion with Donors (Vienna), and Adoration of the Magi (Berlin), which vary in execution from a stress on sumptuous details to a more sculptural rendering of the figures. Roger is believed to have made a pilgrimage to Italy in the holy year 1450. Whether this supposed excursion had any effect on his style is much debated. It has been shown that his Entombment (Uffizi) bears an affinity to the Tuscan treatment of the subject, particularly by Fra Angelico, and that Roger's Virgin and Child with Saints (Frankfurt) has a strong resemblance to the Italian religious art of the day. His style is, however, highly individual. His religious paintings and his portraits are characterized by a straightforward monumentality. The portraits, such as that of a young lady (National Gall. of Art, Washington, D.C.) and of Francesco d'Este (Metropolitan Mus.) exhibit a simple clarity of contour and psychological penetration. Other notable works are his St. Luke Painting the Virgin, of which a version or replica is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Crucifixion