Religious paintings 1500-50
- Ainsworth, Maryan Ainsworth. "Religious Painting from 1500 to 1550". Maryan Ainsworth, et. al. (eds.) From van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (1998). Metropolitan Museum, New York. ISBN 0-87099-871-4 (23-38)
- As many of 150 Sorrows of Our Lady identified in a contemporary pamphlet and the scenes became popular subjects for paintings and it was a time when new and novel iconography was eschewed. Instead greater emphasis put on devotional and meditative nature of the works "which prompted artists to transform traditional themes into emotionally gripping invitations to meditations and spiritual visions." 320-321
- Narrative cycles - secular, mythological - became popular, and the mythological blended with the biblical - ie. Gossart 322
- Diptychs began to emphasize more human aspects of Christ, ie. David's many versions and copies. 322
- Diptychs showed Christ's birth and death - inviting viewer to imagine the intervening scenes 322
- Landscapes became more prevalent and some triptych wings showed only landscape scenes – a way to have the viewer imagine themself on a pilgrimage. 323
- Reform movement too inspired change: Christ shown in a more humanistic aspect, ie. van Cleve's Last Judgement w/out the presence of Mary. Christ became more approachable. 325
- Pieter Aertsen's work was moralistic, Deeds of Christian Charity, or the biblical was relegated to the background, i.e., Egg dance 326-7
Bruegel
- Orenstein, Nadine. "Pieter Bruegel the Elder". Maryan Ainsworth, et. al. (eds.) From van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (1998). Metropolitan Museum, New York. ISBN 0-87099-871-4 (39-61)
- Bruegel's first landscape depictions of nature were in the form of prints (Large Landscapes) [etchings I think] and were characterised by small foreground figures with vast landscape scenes receding into the distant background. 379
- In comparison to Patinir, his landscapes are more realistic and naturalistic (some scenes based on his travels in the Alps) 379
- He found a more versatile medium in painting than in etchings & used paint to capture weather, (i.e, sun, snow, gloomy etc) 381
- His "Months" showing landscapes and weather were based on months from illuminated manuscripts - brought a larger scale to a traditionally smaller format 382
- Moralistic images shown in proverb paintings (The Land of Cockaigne and Netherlandish Proverbs), then popular, and in these and others Bruegel showed a full depiction of peasant life, which he became famous for 382
- Most of Bruegel's patrons are unknown; prob upper class, wealthy, varied religious and political backgrounds. Scholars uncertain how they would have reacted to Bruegel's peasant scenes. A known patron was counselor to Margaret, Duchess of Parma, regent of the Netherlands, another was humanist Abraham Ortelius – the two certainly held strongly different beliefs 385
- Bruegel is the flowering of naturalism, humanism, almost modern perspective with perhap mocking of religious subjects, glorification of lower classes, national pride. 384
Italy
- Christiansen, Keith. "The View from Italy". Maryan Ainsworth, et. al. (eds.) From van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (1998). Metropolitan Museum, New York. ISBN 0-87099-871-4 (23-38)
- Duke of Milan sent a painter to study with van der Weyden to learn portraiture and set a precedent other dukes followed. 41
- Genoese traders in Bruges gained appreciation for northern artists & art & brought it (appreciation and art) south with them 44
- Memling had a v strong Italian client base [mentioned above too] 45
- Bartolomeo Facio wrote biographies of both Jve and RvdW - showing a strong critical appreciation, especially in the realism/naturalism & Roger's ability to express/evoke emotion 47-8
- Cyriac of Ancona too wrote critical essays about northern art - in particular JvE & RvdW 47-48
- Because Italian nobility/princes collected Netherlandish paintings, Italian painters began to emulate landscapes, imagery, iconography and techniques. I.e, pearls adorning eccelesiastical vestment in Fra Angelico (v hard to see, but the carpet and virgin's throne is van Eyckian) w/ Meiss suggesting the Lucca Madonna was a "point of reference" for Italian painters. 49
- Filippino Lippi copied Hugo van der Goes' Portinari Altarpiece, brought to Florence in 1483 (in the article but needs cite) 49
- Botticelli copied van Eyck's landscapes (Adoration of the Magi (Botticelli) and Bellini his St Jerome 51
- The landscapes tend to be jarring in the Italian painting, perhaps added on the whim of the patron, and not until the more fantastic landscapes of Patinir does the Italian style of mannerism begin to take better shape 53
- Memling had a significant and often overlooked influence on Italian painting - in part because so many of his patrons were Italian, he melded northern style with what his Italian patron demanded of him, particularly in his portraits. 55
- His devotional paintings too (i.e, Virgin and Child with two angels ) melded well and perhaps paved the way for a more serene "harmonious" "tranquil" style the Italian painters sought 57
15th century art market & patronage
- Ainsworth, Maryan Ainsworth. "The Business of Art
- Patrons, Clients and Art Markets". Maryann Ainsworth, et. al.(eds.) From van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (1998). Metropolitan Museum, New York. ISBN 0-87099-871-4 (23-38)
- Willem de Clugny commissioned van der Weyden's large Annunciation perhaps on competition w/ Rolin > these large panels not meant for private devotion but to be shown (show off!) and as symbols of wealth & power. 28
- Philip the Good patron of Carthusians and from them comes the JvE Virgin and Child with Saints Barbara and Elizabeth and Jan Vos (??) (now in New York) prob commissioned by Philip for the monastery 28
- Workshops: van der Weyden's Nativity Altarpiece at the Cloisters is example of a work pieced together b/c similarity w/ Nativity Triptych (???) in Berlin. Master made the drawings and these were used for multiple sets of panels. 30 [ … St Columba similar? ]] why no nativity??
- Bouts painted Justice for Emperor Otto III, van der Weyden Justice of Trajan and Herkinbald, David Justice of Cambyses as municipal commissions but such were less common, paid little and attributions are difficult. 30
- These types of works (devotional panels) were often made from a template w/ the donor individualized & maybe a specific individualized panel added, eg, Master of the Saint Ursula Legend added coat of arms to his Virgin and Child > adding coat of arms was another way to individualize a mass produced (or nearly mass produced) piece & sell to a donor - can also be seen in van der Weyden's Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin (Boston) which consists of an original and variations 31
- Documentation (wills) show that workshops kept patterns and prepainted panels to be sold as is 32
- Many of the donors cannot be identified and in most cases because the pieces have been separated it's impossible to tell why they were commissioned or where they were meant to be placed. Larger pieces almost always in churches or monasteries. 32
- By 16th century pieces were commissioned as decorations for residences 32
- Because of tight guild controls and competition among panel painters, the painters had to secure commissions by catering directly to the interests of a specific client base - found in the large foreign populations. Many (50%) of Christus' commissions were for Italian clients and Ainsworth claims he "adjusted his style to suit them". 34
- Christus joined the Confraternity of Our Lady of the Snow and the Confraternity of the Dry Tree to find clients and commissions - members included Isabella of Portugal, most of the leading Burgundian nobles, the leading upper-class families and the leading foreign traders. 34
- Like Christus, most of Memling's commissions were from Italians and Ainsworth said he "cornered the market in portraiture" - he altered his style to blend Italian and northern painting styles 34
- By early 1500s David, like Christus had, joined Confraternity of Dry Tree, but the art market was by then greatly reduced in Bruges and so he joined the Antwerp guild too – shortly after he received commission for a polyptych (panels in various museums now) [which??] but the documentation is lost so nothing is known about who commissioned the piece. 35
- Like Christus, David "conflated" Italian and northern styles to attract foreign buyers 35-36
- The late 1400s to early 1500 saw a decline in private commissions, as the number of works sold at fairs increased, and Antwerp supplanted Bruges in importance. 36
- Campbell
- The art market was the Burgundian court - favored tapestries and metalwork for which better records exist. Very few records for paintings. 188-189
- Tapestries were "favored form of wall decorations" and Burgundian collections of tapestries unrivaled 189
- Religious paintings commissioned too for churches, hospitals, convents, palaces, sometimes commissioned by private donors or wealthy clerics. Civic buildings decorated w/ scenes from Last Judgement 189
- Records show middleclass merchants, burghers, commissioned paintings, e.g. an Brussels official (Cornelis Havelos) who owned 10 religious paintings, one a triptych of Virgin & Child showing himself as donor. 189
- Huge demand all over Europe for Netherlandish tapestries (5% of Belgian exports by 1550s) 190
- Demand but smaller trade in detached single miniatures (b/c of guild laws) 190
- A master painter could make a profit when apprentices produced work (mass produced) 191
- When a work commissioned a contract was drawn up and registered at civic court w/ description of the work, (gives example of a carving commissioned by an abbess) 192
- Possible and even probable that workshops collaborated, creating specialization but evidence is very scanty 198
Pacht
- Haloes & beams of light as haloes > two pages. Do we need it? 15 & 16
- Three pages about identification of Robert Campin 16 -19
- Rogier de la Pasture (van der Weyden) was thought to have painted Campin's works (van der Weyden French but worked in the Burgundian region) > then became a notname Master of Flemalle then Campin 17 [come back to this]
Diptychs
- Borchert
- Early Netherlandish diptychs
- "Diptych = "formal framework for iconic as well as narrative representations" 174
- Half lengths, devotional pieces, etc. Evolution of portraits parallel w/ diptychs - around (1430s or so) and van der weyden synthesized the use of portrait pendants diptychs to combine w/ religious scenes - a format seen in manuscript painting. 179
- The survival of the van Eyck's Madonna in the Church panel indicates either the importance of the cult of the Virgin being depicted or the now lost donor depiction 179
- Donor wings were often simply replaced 181
- By the second half of the century, the religious scene was kept in stock and simply matched to the commissioned donor panel 181
- Borchert calls it an additive process/semi-standardization. Even during that time, diptychs were dismantled and reassembled making attribution particularly difficult without tech. exam. 181-182
- Very few diptychs survived as originally made > exceptions are those in hospices and princely collections (he gives a few examples) 182
- Hulin de Loo took photographs of diptychs and at that point panels that may have been painted as a set (??) began to be identified and Panofsky was able to establish that van der Weyden defined the half length devotional portrait 182
Illustrated mss
- Kren
- Kren
- Many books still unfinished at Philip's death = hundreds of pages of illustrations to be painted - Charles had them finished 7
- "Philip's patronage of art and culture, including the library of more than seven hundred volumes, made him a model Renaissance prince". 7
- "The Duke's library was an expression of the man as a Christian prince, and an embodiment of the state – his politics and authority, his learning and piety". 8
- His patronage "transformed" the manuscript industry in the Lowlands during his lifetime to one that dominated Europe for several generations. [CP here!] 8
- Philip's library at first b/c of inheritance and gifts > he came to patronage late in life and not until after the 1440s commissioned 60 books, some of which were unfinished at his death 17
- After his death, Isabel and then Charles continued the tradition of book collecting/patronage 18
- Much about Lieven van Lathem 18-21
- The tradition passed from Charles to his daughter Mary of Burgundy, her husband Maximilian I, and Charles' wife Margaret of York. 20
- Burgundian commissions "had an extraordinary impact on the book trade" in the Low Countries "and dramatically raising the quality of book production over all" 21
- Margaret of York's interest in books probably influenced her brother Edward IV (he collected Flemish manuscripts) and hence to England 23
- Edward's book collection - almost all Flemish - went on the form the beginning of the English Royal Library and the British Library. 24
- Philip the Good's collection formed the foundation for the Royal Library of Belgium 24 [CP again!]
Tapestries
- Freeman
- Medieval princes "clothed" their rooms in costly garments 1 [CP!]
- Peace Treaty of Arras in 1435 was draped all around (tout autour) w/ tapestries showing Battle and Overthrow of People of Liege" 1
- At Charles the Bold & Margaret of York's wedding the room "was hung above with draperies of wool, blue and white, and on the sides was tapestried with a rich tapestry woven with the history of Jason and the Golden Fleece". 1
- Rooms were hung from ceiling to floor w/ tapestries and some rooms named after a tapestry set, i.e. Philip the Bold had an entire chamber filled with white tapestries showing scenes from The Romance of the Rose. 1
- Tapestries usually woven for a specific chamber but then frequently moved to another castle, chateau, given as a gift, or even perhaps eventually cut and divided to use as bed hangings, etc. 4
Rediscovery and scholarship
- Chapuis, Julien. "Early Netherlandish Painting
- Shifting Perspectives". Maryann Ainsworth, et. al.(eds.) From van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (1998). Metropolitan Museum, New York. ISBN 0-87099-871-4 (3-22)
- As the collections were assembled, archivists began to study and discern differences. Vasari's notes (?) were at that time found, studied, and his mention of two Rogers (of Bruges and of Brussels) were finally determined to mean van der Weyden 8
- James Weale was important archivist of the period. He was a Catholic convert interested in Christian symbolism and liturgy who went to live in Bruges for 25 years where he searched the archives meticulously and began to publish results: he wrote the first biographies of Memling, Petrus Christus, Jan Provost, Adriaen Isenbrandt, published a monograph on David, and then in 1908 the van Eyck book that "remains an essential research tool because of the original documents it contains." 8
- Weale became the force behind the 1902 Bruges exhibition; because Bruges didn't want paintings to be moved it was held there, museums sent photographs of their pieces and some pieces were borrowed from private collectors. Weale, by then considered the leading expert on Netherlandish art, wrote the catalogue for the exhibition. 9
- Weale disregarded the nationalistic aspect and instead focused on the religious aspects of the art - he considered the "devotional element as an essential characteristic of Flemish painting" 9
- Bruges exhibition influenced a generation of art historians beginning w/ Georges Hulin de Loo who published a critical catalogue of the pieces that year (1902) which in some aspects differed from Weale's who had to follow the strictures of the organizing committee and follow attributions as provided by lenders - Hulin de Loo rejected a number of JvE attributions. Friedlander, too, visited the exhibition and like Waagen before him had an "exceptional eye" & continued to collect for Berlin (where he was employed) - for the next 50 years he worked on connoisseurship and attributions of ENA > published 14 volumes "single most important piece of scholarship on Flemish paintings of fifteenth and sixteenth centuries". 9
- Huizinga had described Flemish painting as showing "an immediate affection for the miracle of all things" (find this in Huizinga) Panofsky saw the art as the "vehicle" for religious symbolism which became the focus of scholarship for the next two generations. 11
- Importance of disguised symbolism has recently been questioned by current generation of scholars 12
- Harbison believes the viewer should see the works as objects of devotion with a "prayer book mentality" and that in the period middle class burghers had the means and the inclination to commission devotional objects and images as an aid to devotion, particularly when paired w/ text 12
- A vision was a primary religious goal enacted in donor paintings 12
- James Marrow in 1986 said the painting should be considered not for the disguised symbolism but the how the viewer experiences it; he believes the pieces were painted to elicit specific viewer responses/reactions > the emotions seen in the figures' faces are meant to evoke a similar emotion in the viewer. 12
- Recent scholarship looks at how the works engage viewers 12
- Ghent > 1940 to Pau in France to kept safe; Germans looted and moved to Newschwanstein in 1942; discovered by 3rd American Army 1945. In 1950 and international team of art historians (including Panofsky) worked on the restoration, a report of which was published in 1953 the same year Panofsky published Early Netherlandish Painting. 13 [add to Ghent]
- Section of the Ghent report called "Visual strategies of Flemish painters" - the painters made works that created an "active dialogue" with the viewer. Naturalism was a device to make the world as real as possible for the viewer 15
- Digression: in 1449 Italian Cyriac of Ancona described a now lost van der Weyden w/ phrases such as "faces come alive" "people living" etc. Considered vdW second to JvE. Philip the Good chastised accountants for failing to pay JvW whom he thought as "unequaled" as an artist (long description of the Crucifixion !! but nothing new) 15
- Silver
- North art "remains stubbornly rooted in a broader, more popular notion of art with public utility" (per Huizinga too) 519
- Northern art shows less reverence for the individual in comparison to Italian art, and less concept of originality > i.e the many copies of van Eyck and van der Weyden's work 520
- The work itself was of greater importance than the person who created it. 519
- Much of the scholarly criticism looks at individual contributions and neglects the collaborative nature: i.e, processes such as book making and tapestry making 521
- Printmaking became popular after the Gutenberg press and only Durer gave attention to printmaking (and to a lesser degree the lesser studied Lucas van Leyden) 521
- The context of where the art was placed was important but has received comparatively little study: i.e, church vs. sectarian art; civil vs. court art. 522
- The dominance of religion in the daily life must be taken into consideration as well as the context of the pieces 522
- Important to understand religious practices such as directed prayer, the importance of specific images and subjects, and v. important to consider the importance of secular donors, patrons and commissioners. 523
- Deam
- Early 1900s was called ecole de Bruges but the 1902 exhibition was called primitifs flamands which caught on as a name after 1902 13
- JvE and Hubert were considered to be German in 1900s (Hulin de Loo "rescued" them) 15
- In 1916 Friedlander wrote: "in the fifteenth century the Netherlands were more of an entity with a uniform culture and the Germanic essence, blended it is true with Latin elements from France and Burgundy, flowed through the entire land." 18
- Friedlander - German vs French = JvE vs RvdW 19
- After WWI Friedlander reassessed and called it "Netherlandish art" - the books "Early Netherlandish Painting" (published 1924-1937) 21
Iluminated manuscripts gallery
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