Events

The 15th century was one of astonishing and almost uninterrupted artistic achievements in the area controlled by the Dukes of Burgundy and referred to as the Burgundian Netherlands. This area included the current countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and a portion of northern France. Artists from the Burgundian Netherlands extended the boundaries of painting until they seemed as limitless as the blue-tinged mountains of the distant horizons in their masterpieces. This included Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden who became the most renowned painters in Europe. Van Eyck acquired legendary status perfecting impeccable detail with oil paint. This practice clearly distinguishes Northern art from Italian art as well as art from the preceding centuries. Works by these masters were sought by princes and merchants throughout Europe, who prized them for their remarkable qualities of verisimilitude, technical and coloristic virtuosity, and heightened expressive power. This docent-led talk will focus on how Burgundian Netherlandish artists achieved their common goal - to make the painted image vividly present and to render the unseen palpable.

Image: The National Gallery London, Portrait of a Man (Self-Portrait) Jan van Eyck