Lancelot Blondeel

Lancelot Blondeel, also Lanceloot (1498 – 4 March 1561), was a Flemish artist active in Bruges. He worked as a painter, architect, city planner, surveyor and cartographer, and designed sculptures, tapestries and jewelry.^[1][2][3]

Saint Luke paints the Virgin, Groeningemuseum, 1545

The Legend of Saint George, Groeningemuseum, c. 1535-1545.

The death of Marcus Licinius Crassus, Groeningemuseum, c. 1548-1558.

Life

Blondeel was born in Poperinge, and established himself as an artist in Bruges. He became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke in 1519.^[4]

He trained Pieter Pourbus, who married his daughter Anna in 1543 and eventually took over his atelier.

He primarily painted commissioned religious themed works for local churches. In 1550 Blondeel and Jan van Scorel were commissioned to restore Jan van Eyck's celebrated Ghent Altarpiece.

He made in 1549 on a commission by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, two triumphal arches, based on the Roman style. He also designed a canal that linked Bruges to the sea, a project that greatly promoted Bruges' trade.

Blondeel died in Bruges on 4 March 1561.^[1]

Works

• Triptych with the Saints Cosmas and Damian, Bruges, Sint-Jacobskerk (1523)
• Triptych with the History of the Holy Cross, Veurne, Sint-Niklaaskerk
• The Seven Joys of Our Lady, Tournai, cathédrale Notre-Dame (perhaps in collaboration with Pieter Pourbus)^[5]
• Martyrdom of a Saint, New York City, private collection (1548 or 1558)
• Calvary, Nantes, Musée des Beaux-Arts
• Virgin and Child with Saint Luke and Saint Eligius, Bruges, Sint-Salvatorskathedraal (1545)
• Saint Luke painting the Virgin, Bruges, Groeningemuseum (1545)
• The Good Samaritan, Bruges, Sint-Janshospitaal