The Flemish
renaissance movement is referred to as the fusion of then-Modern day Italian
painting renaissance and local painting traditions of artists based in the
Netherlands. Developed as a response to the Italian Renaissance in the Low
Countries, the Flemish renaissance paintings are characterised by detailed
depictions of the economically deprived areas of the European subcontinents and
the landscapes that are a part of them, which received special attention. In
fact, the Flemish renaissance painting period is also known as the birth period
of landscape as well as genre painting. There were a few artists that gave this
artistic revolution period its identity. This article is about them. Read on to
know more.
Jan van
Eyck.
The maestro
who is known for his work for his oil paintings reportedly came from the city
of Maaseik in Belgium and was reportedly born in 1390. His name is known to
have started making rounds in the relevant circles around the year 1422, the
year in which he supposedly worked for John of Bavaria in The Hague. Three
years later, he worked in the capacity of a painter to Philip the Good, Duke of
Burgundy. In fact, Eyck even painted Philip the Good’s future wife, Isabella of
Portugal in 1428. He is one of the great pioneers of European painting and was
a great innovator of oil painting technique.
While
working on various religious commissions and for several courtiers, merchants
and churchmen, he came to be known for realistically depicting surface effects
and flow of natural light. He achieved his trademark effects with the help of
oil paintings, thanks to its ability of achieving translucent layers, which are
also known as glazes.
He combined realism with spiritual symbolism in his paintings, engendering a belief in the fundamental religious truth behind human existence and everyday experience. Two of his most well-known paintings are the enigmatic Arnolfini Portrait and Portrait of a man. The latter is believed to be Eyck’s self-portrait.
Madonna of Chancellor Rolin 1435 (Image public Domain)
The Arnolfini Portrait 1434 (Image public domain)