| Died on 18 June 1464:
Rogier de la Pasture van der Weyden, Flemish Northern
Renaissance painter born in 1399 or 1400. — BIOGRAPHY Extensive coverage with commentaries and links to reproductions, in whole and in many details, of: — Deposition — Saint Luke Madonna — Annunciation Triptych (here) — Miraflores Altarpiece — Seven Sacraments Altarpiece — Crucifixion Altarpiece — Bladelin Triptych — Last Judgment Polyptych — Braque Family Triptych — Saint Columba Altarpiece — Saint John Altarpiece — Other altarpieces — Other Crucifixions — Portraits — Other paintings ^ == Annunciation Triptych (1440) Chiaroscuro in the manner of Jan van Eyck is a prominent feature of the Annunciation that was originally the central panel of a triptych. Although the two wings of the altarpiece are not by the painter of the central panel, they try to achieve the atmospheric effects of light and shade seen in van Eyck's paintings. — Annunciation Triptych (1440, 86x92cm central panel, Louvre; 87x36cm each wing, Galleria Sabauda, Turin) The central scene of the Annunciation takes place in a luxurious interior, depicted with convincing spatial feeling. The white lilies and glass carafe symbolize the purity of Mary. The fireplace is already out of use on March 25, Annunciation Day, and has a wooden cover over it. The donor in the left-hand wing (the two wings may be by another hand) was later entirely painted over, and not very well. The right-hand wing shows the Visitation. — The Annunciation (1440, 86x93cm, Louvre, Paris) The Louvre Annunciation is the central panel of a triptych the wings of which are most probably not the work of Rogier. Its style is quite different from that of the Descent from the Cross and shows closer affinities to that of Jan Van Eyck. It even reproduces certain details familiar to us from the Arnolfini Marriage, including the red of the bed clothes and hangings and the carved copper chandelier. Instead of the famous convex mirror, the painting features a copper medallion glinting in the background. This is also a picture replete with symbols in typical Campin style: lily, ewer and basin for purifying water, representing the purity of the Virgin Mary; a phial traversed by a ray of light evoking the miraculous birth; an orange or "Chinese apple", fruit of the forbidden tree, reminding us of the necessity of Redemption; extinguished candles, awaiting the coming of the Light, i.e. the Word made flesh. The painting seems to have been designed to suit the Flemish taste for intimate domestic scenes, according to which painters were expected to portray religious themes in familiar bourgeois interiors. Yet, this does not derive from any concern for the minutiae of realist detail, but from properly theological reasons. The new religious tendency in Flanders at that time was the "devotio moderna". This doctrine urged the believer to meditate on Christ's humanity, by representing it to himself in the context of his present life. In Rogier's painting, the contemporary setting, underlined by the absence of haloes, is meant to draw the viewer in so that he effectively participates in the scene before him. This is why the angel Gabriel appears before Mary dressed in an immaculate alb and magnificent brocade cope, as if he had come to celebrate mass, rather than deliver a message. _ detail 1 Musée du Louvre, Paris The Archangel Gabriel is clothed like a priest conducting a liturgical service, wearing a cope of expensive gold brocade over his alb, and a stole of red-gold brocade fabric. The huge clasp of the cope, in the form of a quatrefoil, shows a standing figure, probably God, in an architectural frame that looks like a cross section through a basilica. Two small figures at the sides, presumably angels, are revering the central figure. _ detail 2 (upper part of detail 1) _ detail 3 The painting reproduces certain details familiar to us from Jan van Eyck's The Arnolfini Marriage, including the red of the bed clothes and hangings and the carved copper chandelier. _ detail 4 — Annunciation (20x12cm, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp) This Annunciation is attributed to a follower of Rogier van der Weyden, however, it is entirely in the spirit of the master. In accordance with medieval custom, the angel approaches Mary in the bedroom of a townhouse. The room contains a red bed with a large canopy. The jug which holds a number of lily stems is a symbol of Mary's virginity. |