Fowler, Kenneth A. The Age of Plantagenet and Valois: The Struggle for Supremacy, 1328–1498.
New York: Putnam, 1967.
Lewis, Peter S. Later Medieval France: The Polity. London: Macmillan, 1968.
Vaughn, Richard. Valois Burgundy. London: Lane, 1975.
VAN DER WEYDEN, ROGIER
(1399/1400–1464). “Flemish painter, a student of Robert Campin, known in his day as
second only to Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden was born in Tournai in French-
speaking Hainaut, but the economic life of the area depended heavily on Flanders rather
than France. In the 1430s, rather than seek employment at the Burgundian court, he
moved to Brussels as the head of a large workshop. As a guild member, he catered
heavily to Germanic circles of patronage, which did not, however, prevent his
appreciation of the achievements of the court painter van Eyck. The influence of his
predecessor can be detected in early works such as the Annunciation of ca. 1435, now in
the Louvre, from his attention to detail in the patterning of the floor and fabrics to the
symbolic objects filling the panel with meaning. Simultaneously, van der Weyden began
to move beyond van Eyck’s stylistic accomplishments to create a style of his own, as
exemplified by his Lamentation (ca. 1435–38) in the Prado. In a shallow, undefined
space, van der Weyden focuses the viewer’s attention upon the monumental figures
actively demonstrating their grief. He rejects the disguised symbolism so favored by van
Eyck in order to explore more fully the emotive capabilities of composition. Van der
Weyden, although not employed directly by the Burgundian court, did produce some
works for its most prominent members. An example is his Altarpiece of the Seven
Sacraments (ca. 1453–55) in the Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts of Antwerp, executed for
Jean Chevrot, bishop of Tournai, in which he expanded the Gothic cathedral interior as
depicted in van Eyck’s earlier Madonna in the Church. He and van Eyck shared a client
in the person of Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Flanders. Van der Weyden also painted a
nativity altarpiece (1452–55), now in Berlin, for Pieter Bladelin, who was the chief tax
collector in Flanders for Philip the Good.
Michelle I.Lapine
[See also: CAMPIN, ROBERT; VAN EYCK, JAN]
Davies, Martin. Rogier van der Weyden. London: Phaidon, 1972.
Panofsky, Erwin. Early Netherlandish Painting. New York: Harper and Row, 1971.
Snyder, James. Northern Renaissance Art. New York: Abrams, 1985.
VAN EYCK, JAN
(ca. 1380–1441). As one of the most famous painters of his day, van Eyck had the special
privilege of being a valet to Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy. His role as court painter
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