Rogier Van Der Weyden
(1399 - June 18, 1464) |
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painting, portraits, religious subjects; Restraint and calculated order; frozen moments of pious grief and anguish; acute observation; angular draperies; expressive manipulated bodies Art Work
| Name: |
Rogier Van Der Weyden |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Tournai, Belgium |
| Nationality: |
Dutch |
| Birth: |
1399 |
| Death: |
June 18, 1464 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
painting, portraits, religious subjects; Restraint and calculated order; frozen moments of pious grief and anguish; acute observation; angular draperies; expressive manipulated bodies |
| Medium: |
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| Method: |
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| Style: |
Early Netherlandish painting |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
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Biography
| Born in Tournai, Rogier van der Weyden was apprenticed to Robert Campin, one of the leading painters in the city. Shortly after his arrival in Brussels in 1435, he was made town painter and entrusted with decorating the new town hall with scenes of justice, which are now lost. Rogier acquired great wealth and international acclaim through civic commissions. He attracted prestigious foreign patrons, including Philip III the Good, Duke of Burgundy, although unlike his contemporary Jan van Eyck, he never held a court position. Rogier's most remarkable works are his altarpieces of the Passion of Christ, with the greatest example being the Deposition (c. 1435-1470). In this emotionally intense scene of Christ's body being carried down from the cross, the figures of the mourners are contorted with the pain of grief. Bent over and with dipped heads, they are manipulated into a restricted shallow space, adding to the intensity of emotion. Rogier plays with ideas of space, painting believable surfaces with an immaculate finish, but sets these elements against a solid-gold background, as if they exist in a wooden box of a carved altarpiece. An innovation of Rogier's was to include illusionistic decorative framing at the corners of his paintings, reinforcing the enclosed claustrophobic world that his figures inhabit. His impact on painting in Brussels was great although few of his followers had the skills in drawing and design to match up to their master. Rogier's work was almost forgotten during the eighteenth century because of a confusion regarding his identity; now his achievements are recognized. He is acknowledged as a supreme master of line, movement, and human emotion. |
Samples of Work
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