Rogier van der Weyden 1399/1400 - 1464 was the most important representative of Netherlandish painting or Northern Renaissance ... is, with Jan van Eyck, considered one of the greatest exponents of the school of Early Netherlandish painting. Rogier van der Weyden was born in Tournai as 'Rogier de le Pasture' (Roger of the Pasture) in 1399 or 1400. His parents were Henri de le Pasture and Agnes de Watr??los. The family had settled before in the city of Tournai where Rogiers father worked as a 'maître-coutelier' (knife manufacturer). In 1426 Rogier married Elisabeth, the daughter of the Brussels shoemaker Jan Goffaert and his wife Cathelyne van Stockem. Rogier and Elisabeth had four children: Cornelius, who became a Carthusian monk, was born in 1427, a daughter Margaretha in 1432. Before 21 October 1435 the family settled in Brussels where the two younger children were born: Pieter in 1437 and Jan the next year. From the second of March 1436 onwards held the title of 'painter to the town of Brussels' (stadsschilder) a very prestigious post because Brussels was at that time the most important residence of the splendid court of the Dukes of Burgundy. It was at the occasion of his move to the Dutch-speaking town of Brussels that Rogier began using the Dutch version of his name: 'Rogier van der Weyden'Little is known about Rogier's training as a painter. The archival sources from Tournai (completely destroyed during World War II, but luckily partly transcribed in the 19th and early 20th century) are somewhat confusing and have led to different interpretations by scholars. From a document it is known that the city council of Tournai offered wine in honour of a certain 'Maistre Rogier de le Pasture' on March the 17th 1427. However, on the 5th of March of the following year the records of the painters' guild show a certain 'Rogelet de le Pasture' entered the workshop of Robert Campin together with Jacques Daret. Only five years later, on the first of August 1432, Rogier de le Pasture obtains the title of 'Master' (Maistre) as a painter.[1] Many have doubted whether Campin's apprentice 'Rogelet' was the same as the master 'Rogier' that was offered the wine back in 1426. The fact that in 1426-1427 Rogier was a married man in his late twenties, and well over the normal age of apprenticeship has been used as an argument to consider 'Rogelet' as a younger painter with the same name. In the 1420's however the city of Tournai was in crisis and as a result the guilds were not functioning normally. The late apprenticeship of Rogier/Rogelet may have been a legal formality. Also Jacques Daret was then in his twenties and had been living and working in Campin's household for at least a decade. It is possible that Rogier obtained an academic title (Master) before he became a painter and that he was awarded the wine of honour on the occasion of his graduation. The sophisticated and 'learned' iconographical and compositional qualities of the paintings attributed to him are sometimes used as an argument in favour of this supposition. The social and intellectual status of Rogier in his later life surpassed that of a mere craftsman at that time. In general the close stylistical link between the documented works of Jacques Daret, and the paintings attributed to Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden is considered as the main argument to consider Rogier van der Weyden as a pupil of Robert Campin. The last mention of Rogier de la Pasture in the financial records of Tournai, on October 21, 1435, lists him as demeurrant ?? Brouxielles ('living in Brussels'). At the same time, the first mention of Rogier de Weyden is made as the official painter of Brussels. Therefore Rogier de la Pasture and Rogier Van der Weyden are thought to be one and the same painter. The post of city painter was created especially for Van der Weyden and was meant to lapse on his death. It was linked to a huge commission to paint four justice scenes for the 'Golden Chamber' of Brussels City Hall.[2] Different properties and investments are documented and witness his material prosperity. The portraits he painted of the Burgundian Dukes, their relatives and courtiers, demonstrate a close relationship with the elite of the Netherlands. The Miraflores Altarpiece was probably commissioned by King Juan II of Castile, since Juan II donated it to the monastery of Miraflores in 1445.  Related Paintings of Rogier van der Weyden :. | Angel messenger | St Columba Altarpiece | Sacraments Altarpiece | The Last Judgment | Crucifixion |
Related Artists:
Alonso Berruguete
(Alonso Berruguete) (c. 1488 - 1561) was a Spanish painter, sculptor and architect. He is considered to be the most important sculptor of the Spanish Renaissance, and is known for his emotive sculptures depicting religious ecstasy or torment. Born in the town of Paredes de Nava, Berrugete studied art under the tutelage of his father, the painter Pedro Berruguete. Following his father's death in 1504, Berruguete travelled to Italy to continue with his study of art, spending most of his time in Florence and Rome. It is here that he studied sculpture under the Italian Master, Michelangelo. His paintings produced in Italy showed a mannerist influence, with his art being compared with contemporaries such as Jacopo Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino. Berruguete returned to Spain in 1517, and in 1518, was appointed to the position of court painter and sculptor by Charles V of Spain. From this point in his career forward, Berruguete concentrated on sculpture. Works of his include an altar piece at the Irish college in Salamanca (1529-1533), choir stalls at the Cathedral of Toledo (1539-1543) and a tomb for the Archbishop of Toledo Juan de Tavera at the hospital that Tavera founded, the hospital of St. John the Baptist in Toledo (1552-1561).
John Douglas Woodward
1846-1924
Jean-Pierre Norblin de La Gourdaine
(in Polish, Jan Piotr Norblin; 15 July 1745 - 23 February 1830) was a French-born painter, draughtsman, engraver, drawing artist and caricaturist. From 1774 to 1804 he resided in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where he obtained citizenship. He is considered one of the most important painters of the Polish Enlightenment. He achieved great success in Poland. Given many commissions from some of the most notable families of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, he stayed there for many years, not returning to Paris until the early 19th century. His style showed the influence of Antoine Watteau, and combined the Rococo tradition of charming fates galantes and fetes champetres with a panorama of daily life and current political events, captured with journalistic accuracy. He created a gallery of portraits of representatives of all social classes in the last years of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.