work on the Estúñiga family, and another of dubious
attribution, also lost, on Ilustres varones de España. In
between all these works, the extraordinarily productive
Valera also managed to write a considerable number of
short poems of a moralistic or courtly love nature.
Further Reading
Pulgar, F. del. Claros varones de Castilla. Ed. R. B. Tate. Ox-
ford, 1971.
Valera, M. D. de. Crónica de los Reyes Católicos. Ed. J. de Mata
Carriazo. Madrid, 1927.
——. Memorial de diversas hazañas. Ed. J. de Mata Carriazo.
Madrid, 1941. This edition includes the Crónica abbreviada
as well.
Angus MacKay
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 infl uence of his predecessor can be de-
tected in early works such as the Annunciation of ca.
1435, now in the Louvre, from his attention to detail in
the patterning of the fl oor and fabrics to the symbolic
objects fi lling 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 exemplifi ed by his Lamentation (ca. 1435–38) in the
Prado. In a shallow, undefi ned space, van der Weyden
focuses the viewer’s attention upon the monumental
fi gures 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, ex-
ecuted 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.
See also Campin, Robert; Van Eyck, JanFurther Reading
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.
Michelle I. LapineVAN 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
extended into the realm of diplomacy, as van Eyck
was one of Philip’s emissaries to Spain between 1424
and 1430. Van Eyck began his career in the Burgun-
dian court after the death of his former patron, John
of Bavaria. Although he served Philip directly, his
production of panel painting for him went unrecorded.
However, accounts of patronage do exist for members of
Philip’s circle. Van Eyck’s reputation as a great master
emerged from his superrealistic and sensual treatment
of the panel, his rich and precise handling of clothing
and jewels. Van Eyck fully exploited oil paint as his
medium, evidenced by his exquisite details and nearly
invisible brushwork. As was practiced by the majority
of northern painters, van Eyck infused the objects in his
world with secondary, allegorical, and christological
meanings. The most obvious expression of his disguised
symbolism can be found in his treatment of the Virgin
and Child, a subject van Eyck repeatedly explored. His
Madonna in the Church (ca. 1437–38), now hanging
in the Gemaldegalerie-Staatliche Museen in Berlin,
represents a beautifully executed example of his style
and iconographic approach: the large size of the Virgin
in comparison with her surroundings emphasizes her
status. The Ghent Altarpiece (1432), which has sparked
many a debate concerning attribution and assemblage,
was done in collaboration with his brother Hubert and
represents the only painting known by van Eyck prior
to 1433.
Van Eyck produced his most renowned work for the
members of the Burgundian court or people closely
linked to it, particularly the two-thirds of his paintings
that contain portraits. The Arnolfi ni Wedding Portrait,
which rivals the altarpiece in reputation, was painted for
Giovanni Arnolfi ni in 1434. Arnolfi ni settled in Flanders
with his half-French wife after Philip the Good ap-
pointed him to a position at court. Baudouin de Lannoy,
lord of Molembaix, commissioned a work in honor of his
membership in the order of the Golden Fleece, founded
by Philip in 1430. The inclusion of the order’s collar inVALERA, DIEGO DE