| |
Historical Artist - Petrus Christus (1410 - 1473)
Christus was born in Baarle-Hertog, near Antwerp, Belgium. Long considered a student of and
successor to Jan van Eyck, his paintings have sometimes been confused with those of Van Eyck. At
the death of Van Eyck in 1441, it was reasoned, Christus took over his master's workshop.
Christus may be Van Eyck's successor in the Bruges school, but he was by no means his pupil. In
fact, recent research reveals that Christus, long seen only in his great predecessor's light,
was an independent painter whose work shows just as much influence from, among others, Dirk
Bouts, Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden. A late work, the reserved Portrait of a Young
Girl belongs among the masterworks of Flemish painting, marking a new development in
Netherlandish portraiture. It no longer shows the sitter in front of a neutral background, but
in a concrete space defined by the wall panels. Christus had already perfected this format in
his two portraits of 1446. The unknown woman, whose exquisite clothing suggests that she might
come from France, radiates an aura of discretion and of nobility, while appearing slightly
unreal in the elegant stylization of her form.
Contemporary Dutch Artists
Art Galleries in the Netherlands
|
