| 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 — 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 (here) — Other paintings ^ == Portraits in diptychs: Among Rogier's portrait panels, those combined with a depiction of the Madonna to form a diptych constitute a group on their own. The subjects of the portraits are always on the right-hand panel of the diptych - which in the heraldic sense is the left-hand and therefore subordinate side. Consequently they are always turning left, toward the Madonna, and have their hands folded in prayer. These portraits are constructed like the portraits of individuals except that their faces wear gentle and pious expressions as they gaze at the Virgin. None of these diptychs has been preserved as an entire unit, but two can be reconstructed with certainty (Portrait of Laurent Froimont in Brussels with the Madonna at Caen, and Portrait of Jean de Gros in Chicago with the Madonna at Tournai), and one experimentally (Portrait of Philippe de Croy in Antwerp with the Madonna in California). The type of diptych consisting of half length figures of the Virgin Mary and the donor of the work seems in fact to have been developed by Rogier van der Weyden. Double panels on the same subject had already existed in the 14th century, but they always showed the figures full length. The new formula was based on head and shoulder depictions of Christ with Mary as intercessor, and they too had a long tradition behind them. Rogier now replaced Mary by the donor of the diptych engaged in prayer, and in turn replaced Christ by his mother as the recipient of the donor's devotions. The result was to create a particular sense of closeness between the donor and the Virgin Mary with her Child, combining the large and ostentatious portrait with the theme of eternal prayer. This pictorial form proved very successful, and continued into the 16th century. — Jean de Gros (1455) left wing (36x27cm) _ right wing (39x29cm) — Philippe de Croy (1460) left wing (49x31cm) _ right wing (49x30cm) _ reverse side (49x30cm) — Laurent Froimont (1465) left wing (52x34cm) _ right wing (49x31cm) _ reverse side (49x31cm) Individual portraits: Rogier van der Weyden excelled in the genre of portrait. Unlike Jan van Eyck, he was no realist. He did not seek to capture the particular character of his model, but instead tried to create an ideal image. This approach was very popular with his contemporaries, and brought him considerable success in this genre. He was sought after by the grandest aristocrats and prelates, as well as by the wealthy bourgeoisie, who wanted him to record and embellish their features for posterity. Yet, depending on which historian you believe in, there are only between five and fourteen authenticated portraits by Rogier that have survived to this day. Although he painted portraits throughout his entire career, many of them integrated into wider contexts and larger scenes, those of his individual portraits that have come down to us show a clear imbalance in their periods: the great majority were not done until the 1450s, and most of them were probably even as late as around 1460 and later. — Portrait of a Man (Guillaume Fillastre?) (1440, 34x24cm) Both the attribution of this picture and the identity of the sitter are still disputed. The portrait is chiefly interesting for the fact that it still has its original frame and a painting on its reverse side. Such portraits were therefore not always hung on a wall - although that was presumably sometimes the case, and in fact this picture still has an original ring from which to hang it - but obviously these relatively small portrait panels could be picked up for viewing, like a modern portrait photograph. Perhaps they were kept in cases or closets at other times. _ reverse side The holly branch on the back refers to the man's motto: "Je he ce que mord." — Lady Wearing a Gauze Headdress (1445) Leaving aside the portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Burgundy (Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal), which have been preserved only in copies (by anonymous masters), the only extant panel portrait from the period before about 1450 is this Portrait of a Young Woman. The young woman, with her expansive Flemish winged or horned coif of fine linen, through which the forehead remains visible, fills almost the entire panel. The 'nakedness' of the face and the softness of the features form an attractive contrast to the firm outlines of the stiffly folded linen and the dark background. The sitter's hands with beringed fingers are laid firmly on one another and rest on an invisible sill, support being provided visually by the frame. While in his twenties the artist married Elisabeth Goffaerts, a native of Brussels, and it has been generally assumed that she is the subject of the Berlin portrait. Although there is no real foundation for it, this is not an unreasonable assumption; the open, warmhearted expression seems to preclude an official portrait and to suggest someone close to the artist. It was undoubtedly this impression of intimacy created in this portrait - it occurs nowhere else in the painter's work - which seemed to call for some explanation. To portray the subject looking directly at the viewer was something quite new when this painting was executed; in the Netherlands this technique occurs for the first time in van Eyck's portraits. The resemblance to the portrait of a woman by the Master of Flémalle is worth noting. The artist has modeled his subject with sympathy and sensitivity, while avoiding contact with the observer. |
| — Saint Ivo (1450, 45x35cm) _ This picture, with its portrait-like close-up view of a man reading, is unique in early Netherlandish painting. However, it is not really a portrait. A 16th-century inscription, now removed, described the man as Saint Ivo. As a lawyer, he was particularly active on behalf of the poor, but since the figure does not have the saint's specific attributes, this identification is not certain. The painting is very much in Rogier van der Weyden's style, but shows weaknesses in the drawing of the hands and the foreshortening of the face, and is therefore probably from his workshop. _ detail: the landscape seen through the window at the left side. — Philip the Good (after 1450, 31x23cm) _ The Duchy of Burgundy had its heyday under Philip the Bold, John the Fearless, Philip the Good, and Charles the Bold. Between them, they acquired countless new territories, through a cunning combination of astute marriages, timely purchase and the barely legal diversion of other people's inheritances. Rogier van der Weyden received many commissions from the Court of Burgundy. He excelled in portrait. He was not a realist, he did not seek to capture the particular characteristic of his model, but instead tried to create an ideal image. This approach was very popular with his contemporaries, and brought him considerable success in this genre. He was sought after by the grandest aristocrats and prelates, as well as by the wealthy bourgeoisie, who wanted him to record and embellish their features for posterity. Several writers have drawn attention to Van der Weyden's treatment of his sitter's hands, which he almost always painted joined together, discreetly, so as not to distract from their faces, yet quietly present, always serving to underline their serenity. — Portrait of a Lady (1455, 37x27cm) _ Rogier van der Weyden's independent portraits are very like each other in concept and in structure. He lays out his portrait panels as clear, geometrically structured compositions within the basic pattern designed by Jan van Eyck, showing the sitter for the portrait three-quarter face, either head and shoulders or half length, in front of a uniform, usually dark background. This is very noticeable in the late Portrait of a Lady. This famous portrait is believed to be of Marie de Valengin, illegitimate daughter of Philip the Good of Burgundy. — a different Portrait of a Woman (1464, 36x27cm) _ This picture owes a great deal to the preceding one, but is less carefully designed by comparison, and executed with rather more clarity. The painting must have been done in Rogier's workshop shortly before or shortly after his death. The lady wears a simple woolen dress, and would have been lower in social rank than the subject of the earlier portrait. Unlike Rogier's male sitters, the female subjects of his portraits lower their gaze as a sign of chastity and humility. On the back of the painting Christ in crown of thorns can be seen. — Portrait of a Man (1460, 32x23cm) _ The man, who is of middle age, has not been identified. The fashion in which his hair is cut corresponds roughly to the style worn by Francesco d'Este (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), which would suggest that the two pictures are close in date. — Francesco d'Este (1460, 32x22cm) _ Francesco d'Este, illegitimate son of Leonello duke of Ferrara, received his military training in Brussels in 1444 and spent the rest of his life in Burgundy. The ring and hammer he holds may be emblems of office or tournament prizes. This panel was probably painted about 1460, when Francesco was close to 30. With his elongated features and introspective gaze, Francesco is the paragon of aristocratic aloofness. On the back of the panel the Este coat-of arms with Leonello's crest, the hooded lynx is depicted. Rogier's male portraits are built on similar structural principles and expressive qualities to those of the female portraits. Francesco d'Este has a stately presence as a knightly nobleman, with his broad chest filling the whole of the pictorial area horizontally, but his expression makes him appear a man of great refinement, almost a sufferer from ennui. With his long, thin fingers, the extended little finger almost echoing the curve of his nose, he holds the small hammer and the ring in an elegant gesture perfectly suited to his facial expression. — Charles the Bold (1460, 49x32cm) _ This painting comes from the workshop of Rogier van der Weyden. Charles the Bold wears the emblem of the Order of the Golden Fleece, of which he became a member at birth. The portrait closely resembles a work by Rogier mentioned in 1516 and 1523/24 in the inventories of Marguerite of Austria (1480-1530), granddaughter of Charles VI,except that in this version the duke is holding in his left hand a manuscript scroll instead of the hilt of a sword. Rogier's own painting could have been the model for this very good workshop copy. — Anthony of Burgundy (1461, 38x28cm) _ Anthony of Burgundy was the illegitimate son of Philip the Good and Jeanne de Prelle, and fulfilled military and advisory functions at the Court of Burgundy. During the chapter held at The Hague on 2 May 1456 he was admitted to the Order of the Golden Fleece, on which occasion he received the golden chain with which he is portrayed. This symbolizes the personal bond with Philip the Good, the head and founder of the order of knighthood. Flints, steel and sparks, the emblems of Philip the Good, form the links in the chain. The ram's fleece is taken from the mythological legend of Jason, but refers also to Gideon, God's chosen warrior in the Bible. These are exemplary figures, whose heroic deeds were cultivated by the duke and his courtiers. Anthony of Burgundy embodies the old knightly ideal which the Burgundian power wished to be seen to aspire to. Court dignitaries, knights, tournament judges and soldiers are frequently depicted with an arrow, as a symbol of office, a token of special distinction or merit, or as an attribute. The arrow could also refer to a position as king of an archery guild, the winner of the annual shooting tournament. In 1463 Anthony of Burgundy was king of the Saint Sebastian Guild in Bruges. If the projectile refers to this commendable achievement, this makes it one of Rogier van der Weyden's last works. In any event, the picture was painted after 1456, when Anthony of Burgundy was admitted into the Order of the Golden Fleece. His hairstyle and the high, conical hat point to the period shortly after 1460. Typical of Rogier van der Weyden's art is the low portrait bust in three-quarter profile against a dark, neutral background. Anthony of Burgundy's expression is dignified and serene. The face is individualized, but the traits reflect a pattern of softly-flowing curves. In all likelihood the man's real features have been somewhat simplified to give an overly harmonious and therefore somewhat rigid facial expression, which goes to emphasize the impression of distinction. The painter's workmanship appears in the subtle reproduction of textures, in particular of the skin with the soft gradations of the flesh colors In short, the artist has modeled the knight on an ideal image, whilst retaining his individuality. |
| AT
ART “4” “2”-DAY 18 JUNE |
| DEATHS:
1865 WIERTZ —
1464 VAN DER WEYDEN BIOGRAPHY |
| BIRTH:
1621 EVERDINGEN |