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Jan van Eyck appears to have come from Maaseik; the coats In 1422 Jan was working with one assistant; in 1424 he
of arms on his tombstone indicated that he was of the gentry had two assistants; in 1432 and 1433 he was employing un-
class. Two of his brothers, Hubert (died 1426) and Lambert specified numbers of assistants, perhaps as many as five. He
(documented between 1431 and 1442), were also painters. evidently ran a busy workshop, though his assistants do not
The order in which they were born has not been established appear to have made very significant contributions to pictures
and it is not known where, when or from whom they received such as the portrait of Giovanni(P) Arnolfini and his wife. Art
their education. If NG 222, dated 1433, is indeed Jan's self historians have failed to reach agreement over many ques-
portrait, he may have been born in about 1380. His use of tions of attribution. Hubert and Lambert van Eyck remain
the Greek and Hebrew alphabets indicates something of the rather obscure figures and the followers of Jan - outstanding
range of his accomplishments. By 1422 he was working for among them the artist known as 'Hand G' of the Turin-Milan
John of Bavaria, ruler of Holland, who had previously been Hours - deserve more searching investigation.
bishop-elect of Liege and therefore overlord of Maaseik and
who died in 1425. Jan immediately entered the service of General References
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, who made him his varlet Weale 1908, pp. xxvii-xlix; Dhanens 1980, pp. 12-60; Paviot
de chambre, treated him with the greatest consideration and 1990.
paid him handsomely, so that he could have him paint for him
'whenever he pleased'. In 1434 Jan's salary was increased by
720 per cent, to 360 livres de 40 gros, and converted into a
life pension. On Philip's behalf, Jan went on a pilgrimage, in
1426, and on several journeys to distant places. Between NG 186
1425 and 1428 he was based in Lille; in 1428-9 he went to Portrait of Giovanni (?) Arnolfini
Portugal and there painted Philip's future wife Isabella of
Portugal; by 1431 he was established in Bruges and he died and his Wife
there in June 1441. Oil on oak panel, 84.5 X 62.5 cm,
Before 6 May 1432, Jan had completed the altarpiece of painted surface 82.2 X 60 cm
the Adoration of the Lamb (Ghent, Cathedral of St Bavo), which
had been left unfinished by his brother Hubert. Nine pictures Signature
bear Jan's signature: the 'Leal Souvenir', dated 1432 (NG 290); Johannes de eyckfuit hie 1.1434.
the possible self portrait of 1433 (NG 222); the portrait of (Jan van Eyck has been here. 1434.)
Giovanni(P) Arnolfini and his wife, dated 1434 (NG 186); the
portrait of Jan de Leeuw, dated 1436 (Vienna); the Virgin and Provenance
Child with Saints Donatian and George and Canon van der Paele, The first recorded owner was Don Diego de Guevara, a
dated 1436 (Bruges); the small triptych of the Virgin and Child Spanish nobleman who was brought up at the Burgundian
with Saints and a Donor, dated 1437 (Dresden); the Saint court, spent most of his life in the Low Countries and died in
Barbara, also dated 1437 (Antwerp), which is a brush draw- Brussels in 1520.1 His coat of arms and device2 were on the
ing and may be an unfinished painting; the Virgin of the wing panels, mentioned in 1516,1523-4,1556-8 and 1700
Fountain, dated 1439 (Antwerp); and the portrait of his wife but subsequently lost. He gave the picture to Margaret of
Margaret, dated 1439 (Bruges). Certain surviving pictures Austria (1480-1530) and it was the first item listed in the
were probably signed on the original frames, now lost; other inventory of her paintings taken, in her presence, in her
signed paintings, and one or two pictures mentioned as Jan's palace at Mechlin on 17 July 1516: 'a large picture which is
in early sources, are known only from copies. Several paint- called Hernoul le Fin with his wife in a chamber, which was
ings and one portrait drawing (Dresden) are unanimously given to Madame by Don Diego, whose arms are on the cover
attributed to Jan but their dates have not been securely estab- of the said picture; done by the painter Johannes.' In the
lished. Nothing certain is known about the work which he margin, it was noted 'it is necessary to put on a lock to close
produced before 1432. it: which Madame has ordered to be done'.3 In a later inven-
Jan painted secular subjects as well as religious pictures tory of Margaret's possessions, taken at Mechlin between
and portraits. He worked for the court, for the local clergy, 9 July 1523 and 17 April 1524, it was described as 'another
for fellow professionals such as the goldsmith Jan de Leeuw, very exquisite picture, which closes with two shutters, where
for the foreign communities established in Bruges and for there are painted a man and a woman, standing, touching
foreigners visiting the Low Countries. He enjoyed a very high hands, done by the hand of Johannes, the arms and device
reputation - the Italian humanist Fazio, writing in 1456, of the late Don Diego on the said two shutters, the name of
called him 'the principal painter of our century' - and his the personage being Arnoult Fin'.4 It was then in the seconde
work was avidly collected. chambre a chemynee of her Cabinets.
176
VAN EYCK 177
addition to the National Collection'.17 Though the portrait
was in the Gallery by June 1842,18 Hay had still not been paid Fig. 2 Petrus Christus. Holy
Family, panel, 69.5 X 50.8 cm.
in February 1843.19 The portrait was first exhibited, under Kansas City (Missouri), Nelson
glass and in a case, in March 1843 and immediately attracted Atkins Museum.
crowds of visitors.20 Fig. 3 Attributed to the Master
of the Aachen Panels of the
Exhibitions Virgin, Double Portrait, panel,
8 8 X 5 5 cm. Bad Godesberg,
BI1841 (14); London 1945 (not catalogued); An Exhibition Aloisius-Kolleg.
of Cleaned Pictures (1936-1947)', NG 1947 (22); London
1975 (13); London 1977-8 (not numbered); London 1998
(not catalogued); 'On Reflection', NG 1998 (not numbered).
Versions
Though there is a temptation to imagine that any work of art
showing a mirror, a chandelier or a couple with a dog must
be influenced by NG 186, many fifteenth- and sixteenth-
century artists do seem to have had some knowledge, direct
or indirect, of the double portrait. In the Heinrich Werl pre-
sented by Saint John the Baptist (Madrid, Prado), dated 1438,
by a follower of Campin (see p. 404), 21 the convex mirror
reflects the room and the figures of an approaching friar and
novice: it is so reminiscent of the Arnolfini mirror that there
must surely be some connection between the two paintings. Fig. 4 Loyset Liedet and workshop,
In Petrus Christus's Holy Family (Kansas City, fig. 2), 22 the Charles the Bold visiting a Scribe,
whole interior, including the bed, the high-backed chair, the from the Histoire de Charles Martel.
Brussels, Bibliotheque Royale,
chandelier and the fruit on the window-sill, appears to have MS 8. fol. 7.
been suggested by the interior in NG 186. A'German painter
of about 1490, probably working in or near Cologne, pro-
duced a double portrait (fig. 3) so strongly recalling NG 186
that, once again, he must have had some knowledge of van
Eyck's painting.23
The illuminator Loyset Liedet, who moved from Hesdin to
Bruges in the 1460s and worked there until 1478, seems to
have owned a copy, perhaps a drawing, after NG 186 and to
have referred to it constantly when he was preparing designs
for the enormous numbers of miniatures executed in his
workshop.24 In the five-volume Renaut de Montauban, which
Liedet illuminated for Charles the Bold and for which he was
paid in 1468-70, the miniature on fol. 202v of the first
volume (Paris, Bibliotheque de 1'Arsenal, MS 5072) is at least
reminiscent of NG 186.25 In the four-volume Histoire de Charles
Martel, which Liedet illuminated for Charles the Bold and for
which he was paid in 1472, at least four miniatures may be
classified as versions of NG 186. In the first volume (BR, MS
6, fol. 423), where Charles Martel returns in disguise to his
palace,26 the couple standing by the bed are taken from van
Eyck's portrait. In the third volume (BR, MS 8, fol. 7: fig. 4),
where Charles the Bold(?) visits a scribe,27 the brush, the
chandelier, the convex mirror, the oranges, the string of beads
and the prominent inscription on the rear wall (here Charles
the Bold's device) are all from NG 186. In the same volume,
fol. 108v shows visitors being received at the court of King
Pepin;28 the antechamber on the right, where two courtiers
are playing chess, comes from the same source. In the last Fig. 5 Loyset Liedet and workshop,
volume (MS 9, fol. 7: fig. 5), where Ludie seeks revenge,29 Ludie seeks Revenge, from the
Histoire de Charles Martel.
Liedet has signed his name prominently on the wall above Brussels, Bibliotheque Royale,
the window: he was clearly inspired to do so by the example MS 9, fol. 7.
Engravings
The earliest prints of the portrait were published in the
Illustrated London News of 15 April 1843, p. 258, and in Felix
Summerly's Handbook for the National Gallery, London 1843,
p. 49.
Technical Notes
The portrait, cleaned in 1942-3, is very well preserved. There
are small losses along a zig-zag scratch across the mirror and
minor flake-losses in the side and back walls and in the bed-
cover; there is a slight damage in the ribcage of the dog. Some
of the ultramarine-containing paint in the woman's sleeve and
of Jan van Eyck's signature in NG 186. In the Demandes et NG 186 seems also to have been adapted as a 'portrait' of underdress, in the man's tabard and in their reflections in the
Responses en Amours (Herzog August-Bibliothek, Wolfenbiittel, Walburga of Mors, who married in 1454 Philippe de Gray, mirror may have deteriorated and become greyish. Many of
Cod. Guelf. 84.7 Aug. 2, fol. IIIv: fig. 6),30 the couple and the Seigneur de Sempy. The original appears to have formed part the retouchings have discoloured and become a little obtrusive.
interior are dependent on NG 186. In the Roman de Gerard de of a series of full-length portraits of members of the Croy There are two layers of varnish: the lower is somewhat
Nevers or Roman de la Violette (BN, MS fr. 24378), the family: they are known only from drawings in Rubens's Cos- physically degraded and is yellower than the upper layer.
miniature on fol. 120, Gerard receiving the gift of a falcon tume Book.38 An engraving published in 1600 of Ansegisel, The panel, which measures 84.5 X 62.5 cm, is made up
(fig. 7),31 is taken from NG 186. In a manuscript of the Recueil Duke of Brabant, and his wife Saint Begga (died 693) may be of three oak boards, laid vertically, vertical in grain and
des histoires de Troie sold at Sotheby's on 13 July 1977 (60), partially based on NG 186.39 radially cut. They are similar in size but not quite regular in
the miniature of Juno sending Hercules to Egypt 32 is once A double portrait signed 'Godefridus loannis fecit 1581' shape, the widths at the top edge being, from left to right,
again an adaptation of the composition of NG 186. was mentioned by Weale as a 'curous imitation' of NG 186 20.95, 20.4 and 20.9 cm, at the bottom edge 20.8, 22.0 and
The National Gallery picture was accessible in some form but there are in fact no close resemblances.40 In contrast, 19.7 cm. Each of the two joins is reinforced with three dowels.
to artists who manufactured 'historical' portraits. The woman Sanchez Coello's double portrait (Prado) of the Infantas Isabella At its centre the panel is about 17 mm thick; the edges are
in the London portrait seems to have served as a basis for and Catherine, the daughters of Philip II of Spain, painted in bevelled at the back. Though the bevels are not completely
several images of Bonne of Artois, Philip the Good's second about 1575 (fig. 9), is clearly based on van Eyck's painting, regular, the thickness at the middle of the top edge is 11 mm.
wife (she died in 1425). There are painted versions in Berlin then in Philip's collection.41 An old vertical split in the central board was about 26 cm
(fig. 8), 33 Cadiz34 and Lisbon;35 another was in the Haas It has been suggested that Velazquez saw NG 186 when long and extended from the top edge to the mirror frame. It
collection in Detroit;36 a mid-sixteenth-century drawn version it was in the Spanish royal collection and that it inspired him is held at the back with four wooden buttons, placed there in The reverse (fig. 10) has been coated with various pro-
is in the 'Recueil d'Arras' (Arras, Bibliotheque municipale, to paint the mirror in Las Meninas (Prado).42 Since van Eyck's 1940. The unpainted edges, regular in width, survive on all tective layers. All were applied when the panel was in its
MS 266, fol. 62).37 All show the lady wearing a slightly simpli- picture has been on exhibition at the National Gallery it has four sides. Slivers of oak, horizontal in grain, adhere to the original frame, so that the reverse, like the obverse, has
fied version of the headdress seen in NG 186 and a V-necked attracted the attention of a great many artists and it is im- upper and lower unpainted edges and must be fragments of unpainted edges, which vary in width between 1.2 and 1.4
rather than a round-necked dress, which, in the Berlin and possible to list all the works of art which it has inspired. the original frame. The largest fragment begins below the cm. The reverse side of the original frame must have been the
Cadiz paintings, is pink rather than green. The woman in Holman Hunt's drawing of the Lady of Shalott (Melbourne), dog's left forepaw and extends about 7 cm to our right. same size as the obverse side. The lowest protective layer
Fig. 10 Reverse of NG 186 Fig. 11 X-radiograph of NG 186 Fig. 12 Infra-red reflectogram mosaic showing
a detail of the head of Giovanni(P) Arnolflni
looked more to his left. His nose and mouth were drawn above
the painted features (fig. 12). The woman's eyes were drawn
lower and her gaze has shifted towards the man (fig. 13). The
very fine, delicate hatching which indicates the shadows in
her face corresponds to the drawn eyes; the eyelids and sockets
of the painted eyes are not drawn. The man's head seems to
have been changed at an earlier stage, as the new positions
of all the features are drawn and the hatching gives form to
the second head. His right arm and hand have been altered,
the hand having been further to our left and its palm exposed.
Both his shoulders have been moved down. On his left, there
are two drawn contours above the painted contour, which is
also drawn. Three distinct versions are visible of each of his
feet: a drawn outline; a painted foot that was painted out; and
the final painted foot. The drawn feet are further apart than
the painted feet. The skirt of his tabard was shorter. The
woman's hat was drawn lower; her left hand was angled
downwards; the thumb of her right hand was drawn parallel
to his thumb; and his fingers curled further round her hand.
182
Fig. 15 Infra-red reflectogram mosaic showing a detail of the mirror OPPOSITE: Fig. 17 Enlarged detail of the mirror and signature
The drawing shows a larger, octagonal mirror (fig. 15). bar of the window seems to have been drawn lower and the
The bench was higher and red paint from its back lies beneath shutters were drawn to match its lower position. The top of
the grey wall under the mirror, while the high-backed chair the window may have been visible in the underdrawing.
was painted over the wall and was not underdrawn. A brush, The portrait is relatively quickly and freely painted. Van
larger than the painted one and hanging parallel to the wall, Eyck has blotted the green glazes on the woman's dress,
was drawn higher and nearer the mirror. The carpet was perhaps with his fingers; in order to soften the tonal transition
drawn shorter and has been extended across the under- between the floor and the shadow of the dog's hind leg, he
drawing of the floor to meet the hem of the green dress. The has smudged the contour of the shadow with a finger or
chest had a more ornate base in the underdrawing. The cross- thumb, which has left a recognisable print. A sgraffito tech-
nique has been used to define the handle of the brush and
Fig. 16 Photomicrograph showing a detail of the brush
the highlights on the little twigs(?) which form the brush itself
(fig. 16). The top of the sconce on the extreme right of the
chandelier consists of a dark brown contour line and a high-
light; the middle-tone is the paint of the wall behind. In many
places, for instance the fringes of the tester, the paint is worked
wet-in-wet. Occasionally, for example in the stained glass of
the window, van Eyck has painted at such speed that his brush
has strayed or trailed across contours. He appears to have
dropped a small brush, with blue paint on it, onto the mirror-
frame. The signature was evidently painted with a long narrow
brush, the point of which had a slight tendency to divide.
Some of the cadels are made up of several brushstrokes. The
speed and economy of van Eyck's technique are perhaps best
admired in the amber beads (fig. 14) or in the reflection of
Jan van Eyck's Portrait ofGiovanni(P) Arnolflni and his Wife, the to be misplaced. Painted with astonishing spontaneity, the picture The pictures catalogued here were painted in the Burgundian 653) and Pieter van Coninxloo (NG 2613); the two panels by
first fifteenth-century painting to enter the collection, was listed gives a wonderfully imaginative and elaborately distorted vision Netherlands or by artists trained there. By 'Netherlands' are David and his workshop, which are probably from the same
as follows in the catalogue of the Gallery's collection published of reality. Jan van Eyck emerges as a witty and highly sophisti- meant those areas of the Low Countries and what is now altarpiece (NG 1078, 1079); and the two panels by Justus of
in 1843: cated genius. He exploits his supreme ability to imitate reality in northern France that were under the political domination of the Ghent and his workshop, which are from the same series of the
order to produce profoundly interesting and obsessively engaging Valois Dukes of Burgundy and their Habsburg successors. Simon Liberal Arts (NG 755, 756).
'No. 186 JOHN VAN EYCK pictures. It has been possible to identify the patrons who com- Marmion is included because he came from Amiens, under All but two pictures, the Virgin and Child in an Interior from
Born 1370. Died 1441. missioned the Exhumation of Saint Hubert from Rogier van der Burgundian rule between 1435 and 1463 and between 1465 the workshop of Campin (NG 6514) and the Man Reading (Saint
The subject of this Picture has not been clearly ascertained. Weyden and to reconstruct with some confidence the stages by and 1471, and moved during the 1450s to Valenciennes, in the IvoP) from the workshop of van der Weyden (NG 6394), had
Purchased by Parliament in 1842 from Major-Gen. Hay. which it evolved, from Rogier's first idea to the finished painting Burgundian county of Hainault. Valenciennes did not become entered the Collection before 1968 and were intensively studied
On wood. 2 ft. 9 in. high. 2 ft, 2 in. wide.' - which is largely the work of his assistants. Dirk Bouts's Portrait part of France until 1677: the fifteenth-century inhabitants of by Martin Davies in his catalogues of 1945, 1955 and 1968 and
of a Man has been plausibly identified as a likeness of his friend Valenciennes were no more French than their neighbours at in his volumes in the Corpus series, published in 1953,1954 and
In the present catalogue, the entry for the same picture takes up Jan van Winckele, an official of the University of Louvain. Mons. Though Tournai was reckoned to be the fourth city in 1970. In the 1968 edition of his catalogue, Davies wrote:
thirty-eight pages. Though the earliest National Gallery catalogues Memling's Donne Triptych appears to have been dated 1478. France, after Paris, Rouen and Orleans, it was an enclave in
Perhaps it is becoming due to be rewritten entirely.
were handlists, giving only the artists' names and the titles of David's Bernardijn Salviati and Three Saints is the left wing of a Burgundian territory and very much under Burgundian control
I have not attempted that; I have inserted corrections
the paintings, it soon became clear that the public wanted and diptych, the right wing being almost certainly the Crucifixion, until it was annexed in 1521. The painters of Tournai are there-
and amplifications as well as I could.1
required detailed information on every picture. It is one of the now in Berlin. The diptych can be understood as a tribute of affec- fore included. The modern frontiers, established long after 1500,
proudest traditions of the Gallery that this need is met. The tion from Salviati to his mother, above whose tomb it seems to are of no relevance whatsoever. In the fifteenth century, the In the 19 70 Corpus volume, he stated that he intended 'to prepare
National Gallery catalogues have been, and we hope will con- have been placed. people of North Brabant and the northern provinces, beyond the a revised text... for a second edition' of the first two volumes.2
tinue to be, models followed throughout the world. Perhaps most important of all, the catalogue will, we hope, great rivers of the Meuse and Rhine, did not know that those Sadly he did not live to carry out his intention.
Anyone looking at a painting may ask some very straight- provide a sound basis for further research. One day, the identity areas were destined to become 'Dutch' or that later generations More than half a century has passed since the publication in
forward questions. What is represented? Who painted it? When, of the woman in the Arnolfini portrait may at last be established would evolve the idea that the region was predestined to become 1945 of the first edition of Davies's catalogue. The present
where, for whom, why and how was it painted? Such disarm- with certainty. The inscription in Greek letters on van Eyck's 'Dutch'. The term 'Flemish', which, over the centuries, has volume is not a revision of part of Davies's catalogue; it is an
ingly simple questions can, of course, be difficult or impossible to Leal Souvenir has been translated ('Then God...') but its meaning assumed many different meanings, cannot be narrowly defined independent undertaking. I cannot stress enough how great is
answer. In the catalogues we aim to make accessible all the avail- remains for the moment obscure. Work progresses on every and is therefore avoided. The word 'Dutch' is used to describe the my debt to Davies's research and example, how much I have
able and relevant information and to present plausible interpret- aspect of these paintings. Let us hope that discoveries will con- language (Diets) spoken in the central and northern areas of the benefited from his work. I have, however, taken inspiration from
ations of the evidence. Readers are invited to agree; or to use the tinue to be made. Low Countries. In the fifteenth century, the linguistic frontier a passage in his discussion of the Liberal Arts by Justus of Ghent:
same evidence to form different opinions; or to frame and answer One of the most fruitful discoveries of recent years is the Virgin between the Dutch-speakers and the French-speakers ran more
... the subject has been much confused by the
different questions. and Child in an Interior from the workshop of Campin. Its emer- or less where it still runs, from west to east a few kilometres south
statements of modern critics, passing for facts, and
In the present catalogue the detailed descriptions and the gence has provoked a radical review of the questions surrounding of Brussels. Though the Coudenberg palace accommodated a
it is necessary to begin again at the beginning.4
enlarged reproductions reveal unexpected beauties and unsus- Campin and his assistants; it is, besides, a picture of entrancing French-speaking court, Brussels was a town of Dutch-speaking
pected pleasures, even in the best-known pictures, and will beauty. The last fifteenth-century Netherlandish painting to have inhabitants. Guided by Davies, I have tried to begin again at the beginning
greatly advance our understanding of them. During exacting been acquired for the Gallery, it was purchased in 1987 from Justus of Ghent, Juan de Flandes and the follower of Jan van and, not being bound by the rather restrictive formats of the
technical examinations, insights have been gained into the Edward Speelman Limited, London. The late Edward Speelman Eyck who painted the portrait of Marco Barbarigo (NG 696) are 1945 catalogue or the Corpus volumes, I have had greater oppor-
creative processes of the painters. In the Introduction, attempts showed his enthusiasm for Netherlandish art in many ways. In included. Though they worked in Italy, Spain and England tunities to develop hypotheses, pursue arguments and pay greater
have been made to set the National Gallery paintings into their 19 71 he founded the Speelman Fellowship in Dutch and Flemish respectively, they came from the Netherlands and were trained attention to the people, artists and patrons, who were involved
historical context and to elucidate their subject matter; to show Art at Wolfson College, Cambridge. The author of the present there. The Master of Saint Giles, however, who worked in Paris, in the making of the pictures. Because I took Davies's research
how the painters worked, how they employed their assistants, catalogue was the first Speelman Fellow. In 1994 Edward is excluded. Both he and the Master of Moulins will be dealt with as a basis, I have of course been able to exploit the historical
what their materials were and how they used them, what they Speelman bequeathed to the Gallery Bosschaert's Flowers in a when the Early French pictures are re-catalogued. evidence still more thoroughly and to add to, or develop, his
aspired to do, and what constraints were put upon them by their Glass Vase, of 1614 (NG 6549). His son, Anthony Speelman, Chronological divisions are no more easily made than geo- discoveries. Since 1968, important advances have been made in
patrons and by their materials. sharing his father's affection for Netherlandish painting and for graphical ones. The sixteenth-century Netherlandish Schools will the technical investigation of paintings. I have had access to a
In the course of research, some remarkable discoveries have the Gallery, has contributed most generously towards the cost be treated in a later volume, which will include pictures by Bosch, very much greater body of technical information than Davies
been made. In the Arnolfini portait, for example, the couple had of producing this catalogue. active from 1474, and Quinten Massys, born in 1465-6. Their ever knew.
been wrongly identified; the idea that they are getting married or work is markedly different in style and in technique from that of Working in close association with my colleagues in the
betrothed and that the portrait is full of hidden symbols appears Neil MacGregor, DIRECTOR van Eyck, van der Weyden and Memling. The present catalogue Conservation and Scientific Departments, I have studied each
includes some pictures certainly painted in the sixteenth century picture, brought to the Conservation Department for that purpose.
in the workshops of artists such as Gerard David, the Master of I had already consulted records of any conservation treatment
Delft and the Master of the Magdalen Legend. They are more or previous examinations, X-radiographs, infra-red and other
conveniently attached to the fifteenth-century traditions of van technical photographs and reports on paint- and medium-
der Goes, Geertgen and van der Weyden than to the sixteenth- samples. With Rachel Billinge, formerly Leverhulme Research
century traditions of Massys, Lucas van Leyden and van Orley. Fellow and now Rausing Research Associate, I studied the
Fifty-two works are catalogued here. The following pairs of structure of any frame that was original and the construction of
paintings are counted as single 'works': the pairs of wing panels each support. The supports were measured and notes were made
by followers of Gerard David (NG 657) and by Memling (NG of any inscriptions, seals, numbers or other significant marks on
747); the two fragments by Marmion, which are from the same the reverses. Using infra-red reflectography, Rachel Billinge
altarpiece (NG 1302,1303); the pairs of portraits by Campin (NG examined the entire surface of each painting, took detailed notes
FOREWORD PREFACE
and made reflectograms of any significant or potentially Curator of German, Early Netherlandish and British Paintings,
significant passages.4 We looked at many of the pictures under has been unfailingly supportive.
FRIESLAND
ultra-violet light. We then examined every paint surface under I am grateful to everyone who has responded to requests for
the binocular microscope and made notes with a view to writing information. Their names are recorded at the end of the relevant
a detailed description of the picture and a report on its condition. entry; if there are omissions, they are inadvertent. Colleagues in
What appeared in the reflectograms to be underdrawing was other museums and galleries, both in Britain and abroad, have
scrutinised to ensure that it was in truth underdrawing rather assisted in many different ways. The librarians and archivists at
than dark lines in the surface paint. The edges were examined the Gallery, the British Library, the Courtauld Institute of Art,
.Zwolle with particular care to establish whether they had been cut and, the Institute of Historical Research, the Principal Probate Registry,
if so, how the cuts had been made; and to detect any traces of the Public Record Office, the Warburg Institute and Dr Williams's
C O U N T Y OF
paint or gilding which might have strayed onto the painted Library have been exceedingly helpful. I have had a great deal
HOLLAND
.Deventer surface when the original frame was decorated. Where possible, of assistance from the staffs of the Bisschoppelijk Archief, the
, D U C H Y OF 7TJTpHFN
pigments were identified and layer-structures observed. We tried Rijksarchief, the Stadsarchief and the Stadsbibliotheek in Bruges;
>utrecht GUELDERS to note and describe any unusual, or potentially unusual, aspects the Archives Generates du Royaume and the Bibliotheque Royale
of the painting technique. Our colleagues from the Scientific in Brussels; the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and the Rijksbureau
The Hague^ Ddft
Department also took part in the microscopic examination, when voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie in The Hague; the Archives
we decided whether and where it would be possible to obtain Departementales du Nord in Lille; the Archivio di Stato in Lucca;
paint-, ground- and medium-samples. These were taken from the the Archives Nationales and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.
edges of the painted surfaces, or, on rare occasions, from the Among the friends, students and colleagues who have helped
.j-igfe , / " 's-Hertogenbosch edges of damages. Ashok Roy, Raymond White, Marika Spring in various ways, I would like to thank in particular: Paul Ackroyd:
and Jennie Pile took samples for analysis and re-examined Richard Beresford; Christopher Brown: Catriona Campbell; David
Breda
existing samples from the Department's archives. Martin Wyld, Chambers; Nicola Coldstream; John Cupitt; Judy Egerton; Caroline
the Chief Restorer, David Bomford, Jill Dunkerton and Anthony Elam; Judy Evans; Gabriele Finaldi; Celia Fisher; Dillian Gordon;
DUCHY OF & Reeve, all Restorers, and Marika Spring and Jo Kirby of the Sarah Herring; Susan Jones; Larry Keith; Erika Langmuir;
BRABANT Scientific Department have given particularly helpful advice. If John Leighton; Jacqueline McComish; Elizabeth McGrath; Scot
Ter Doest
X-radiographs or other technical photographs were required, McKendrick; Susie Nash; Nicholas Penny; Sarah Perry; Carol
Bruges, Sint-Kmi! , /Antwerp
--""'*
Sc Maaseik they were taken at that stage and the picture was returned to its Plazzotta; David Saunders; Alistair Smith; H. Martin Stuchfield;
^7 G llC ill \
C O U N T Y Qf?X_,___/t^ Mechlin v _ v <
place in the Gallery. Luke Syson; Caroline Villers; Humphrey Wine; Alison Wright.
r:-. Nieuwkapelle Diksmuide A Nn p/^7 Dendermonde Rachel Billinge made up the computerised reflectogram Michael Bratchel, Christine Meek and Jacques Paviot have been
Calais' vGravehnes tLAJNJJCKy Le6beke
f.Affligem ,
-Louvam ; 2 Maastricht assemblies and the paint- and medium-samples were studied in exceptionally generous in communicating the results of their
i Tienen
,. ^*~ - ^ ^> -.~^ .^^^^^ L1JV1 rj U rvG the Scientific Department. Grounds, pigments and layer structure investigations bearing on van Eyck's portrait of Giovanni(P)
,,^ **,<, ^ ^x^ ,r (JT *~ TO v s
i / St-Omer * , were examined by optical microscopy and analyses undertaken Arnolfini and his wife. Jo Kirby and Marika Spring have read and
'/i '
^ s^-_^^^ Lille. ' Upoumai \s
by X-ray microanalysis in the scanning electron microscope commented upon much of my text. Peter Klein, of the Ordinariat
f v
v % , Nivelles
(SEM-EDX) and by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Lake pigments fur Holzbiologie at the University of Hamburg, has generously
were studied using high-performance liquid chromatography allowed me to cite his reports on the panels which he has exam-
,'J"' ARNTmSF ''--,
AKIUlci " n
''"'KcOUNTY
' f
M OF : -^;.,.--''c
Mons " f (HPLC) and paint binding media were identified by gas- ined. My sister Jennifer Campbell made the reconstruction draw-
%-f 'Hesdin C* O U a 'l^V HAINAULT chromatography linked to mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) and using ings reproduced on pp. 127 and 399. Rachel Billinge, who has
Arras ^ ^ ^^t^^Valenciennes ^
^ -"N ,* /-" *Maubeuge~ --,
the complementary technique of Fourier-transform infra-red worked with me on this project for several years, has discussed
s microspectrophotometry (FTIR). At regular intervals we discussed with me most of the text, has suggested many corrections and
Cambran
Abbe and collated our results.5 improvements and has contributed a great many pertinent obser-
In preparing this catalogue I have become much indebted vations. Catherine Reynolds has read and discussed with me the
to many persons and I cannot adequately acknowledge all the entire text, has provided much important information, has advised
help that has been given. In 1992-3, as a British Academy/ me on many points of interpretation and has been a tactful but
Leverhulme Trust Research Fellow, and in 1993-4, as a British searching critic as well as a constant source of encouragement.
Academy Research Reader, I was released from my duties at the
Courtauld Institute of Art in order to work full-time on the cata- London, 22 July 1997
logue. In 1994-5,1 was allowed a further year's leave of absence
from the Institute. I am deeply grateful to my former colleagues
The Low Countries in the fifteeth century at the Institute and to the authorities of the British Academy for While the book was being prepared for publication, I received
making possible these arrangements. At the Gallery I have had indispensable assistance from the editor, Marie Leahy, and from
constant help of various kinds from all my colleagues, past and the Gallery Editor, Diana Davies. I am no less grateful to the
present. I would like to thank in particular those in the Curatorial, designer, Gillian Greenwood, and to my colleagues at National
Conservation, Art Handling, Framing, Libraries and Archive, Gallery Publications Limited, particularly Sue Curnow, Jan Green,
Photographic and Scientific Departments. Susan Foister, the John Jervis, Felicity Luard and Patricia Williams.
1. Davies 1968, p. 5. a DataCell S2200 frame capture board mounted in the computer used
2. Davies 1970, p. vii. for reflectogram assembly, a Sun SPARC-station 20. The assemblies are
generated using Vips-ip software. For a more complete explanation, see
3. Davies 1968, p. 73. R. Billinge, J. Cupitt, N. Dessipris and D. Saunders, 'A Note on an improved
4. The equipment used consists of a Hamamatsu C2400 camera with an procedure for the rapid assembly of infrared reflectogram mosaics', Studies
N2606 series infra-red vidicon tube that is sensitive to about 2000 nm. in Conservation, vol. XXXVIII, 1993, pp. 92-8.
The camera is fitted with a 36 mm lens to which a Kodak 87A Wratten 5. See also Campbell, Foister and Roy 1997.
filter is attached to exclude visible light. The video signal is digitized using
PREFACE
REFERENCES
EXHIBITIONS 455
454 REFERENCES
INDEX BY INVENTORY NUMBER INDEX OF PROPER NAMES
186 Jan van EYCK Gerard DAVID 2612 MASTER OF THE VIEW OF Bold type has been used for references Bardi. Bartolomea de' 194 Bouts Duchesses of see Bonne of
to main catalogue entries; page Bardi. Enrico di Borbone. Conte di Aelbrecht 38, 52, 54, 59, 338, Artois, Isabella of Portugal,
222 Jan van EYCK Gerard DAVID ST GUDULA
numbers in italics refer to the 92 344 Margaret of Flanders,
290 Jan van EYCK Dirk BOUTS 2613 attributed to Pieter van comparative illustrations. Baroncelli, Pierantonio 109 Dirk 19,20,21,22,25,26, Margaret of York, Mary of
CONINXLOO Baroni 29, 30, 38-71,41,42. 70, Burgundy
653 Robert CAMPIN follower of Rogier van der Bernardino 208 n. 179, 209 164, 188, 344, 353 n. 45, Dukes of see Charles the Bold,
654 Rogier van der WEYDEN WEYDEN 2614 workshop of the MASTER OF Adelbald. Archbishop of Cologne n. 219 419,422 John the Fearless, Philip the
THE MAGDALEN LEGEND 414,418 Giuseppe Vincenzo 209 n. 219 after 41 Bold, Philip the Good
657 followers of Gerard DAVID 1087 MASTER OF THE BRUGES Barrett, Thomas 12, 122 attributed to 70 John of, Bishop of Cambrai 352
Aders, Karl (Charles) and Eliza
PASSION SCENES 2669 follower of Simon MARMION
658 after Hugo van der GOES 12-13, 14 Bartolomeo, Fra 362, 366, 367 circle of 71 Philip of (son of Philip the Good)
1280 JUAN de Flandes 2922 MASTER OF DELFT Adrian of Utrecht (Pope Adrian VI) Battel, Jan van 115 n. 6 followers of 26 21
664 Dirk BOUTS Baudot, Francois-Nicolas see workshopof 14,22, 23, 25, Burlamacchi, Filippa 196
3066 follower of Hugo van der GOES 50
686 Hans MEMLING 1302,1303 Simon MARMION Affligem Abbey 157n. 56 Dubuisson-Aubenay 27, 30, 60-71, 62 Busleyden, Jerome de 246
1432 Gerard DAVID 3067 Gerard DAVID Agnello, Battista dell' 445, 446 Bavaria see Albert, Isabella, Dirk, the Younger 38
696 follower of Jan van EYCK Jacqueline, John, Ludwig I of Brabant Cagnuoli, Camilla 208 n. 154
3116 workshop of the MASTER OF n. 29
708 workshop of Dirk BOUTS 1433 workshop of Rogier van der Ailly, Raoul d' 87 Bave, Adriaen 129 Ansegisel, Duke of 180 Cambrai, abbey church of St-
WEYDEN THE MAGDALEN LEGEND Alatruye, Barthelemy 82, 422 Beaucousin, Marie Edmond John IV, Duke of 194,419 Aubert 22, 187
709 Hans MEMLING Campin, Robert 18,19, 23. 27,
3 3 79 follower of the MASTER OF Alba, Duke of 352 13-14 Bramati, Giuseppe, Antonio and
710 Gerard DAVID 1939 follower of Lieven van Albergati, Cardinal 31.216 Beaumont, Sir George 13 Luigi 274 28,29, 31, 32, 34, 35,49,
THE SAINT URSULA LEGEND
LATHEM Albert, Prince Consort 14, 16 Becket, Thomas a 12 Bramantino 286 72-9, 87, 91,97, 98, 100,
711,712 workshop of Dirk BOUTS 4081 GEERTGEN tot Sint Jans Albert of Bavaria, Count of Holland Bedford, John, Duke of 12 Broederlam, Melchior 33 n. 29, 104, 187, 205 n. 46, 245, 259,
2159 after Hugo van der GOES
747 Hans MEMLING 6265 attributed to the workshop of 231 Beer, Donaas de 209 n. 185 201 316, 340,392,405,420,430
2593 Petrus CHRISTUS Albion, Violante de 264 Beer, Jan de 89 Brown. Ford Madox 181 after 100-3
755, 756 JUSTUS of Ghent and Rogier van der WEYDEN Altdorfer, Albrecht 14 Beest, Dirck van 322, 333 n. 32 Brownlow, 3rd Earl 15, 16 followers of 15, 21, 22, 28, 87,
workshop 2594 Hans MEMLING
6275 Hans MEMLING Altveus, Abbot of Andage 414 Begga, Saint. Duchess of Brabant Bruges 92-9, 178,200,404,405,
7 74 workshop of Dirk BOUTS 2595 Dirk BOUTS Angelo da Siena 288 180 churches: 436
6377 workshopof Robert CAMPIN Antonello da Messina 297 Bellini, Giovanni 44, 227 n. 20 Our Lady 27, 119-21, 151 workshop of 16, 23, 28,
783 Rogier van der WEYDEN 2596 workshop of Gerard DAVID Bening, Simon 164 St Basil 436 80-91. 252
6394 workshop of Rogier van der Arenberg, Alexandre d'. Prince of
and workshop 2602 follower of Jan van EYCK WEYDEN Chimay 438 Benson, Ambrosius 25, 28, 116. StDonatian 20-2, 122, Capelle, de Visch van der
Arnolfini 164, 166 126, 128, 132, 146, Richard 146-57
943 Dirk BOUTS 2608 after Robert CAMPIN 6514 workshop of Robert CAMPIN Bartolomeo di Nicolao 193, Bergen, Elisabeth van 66 150-3, 155,436 family 20. 128-9, 132, 150-6,
1045 Gerard DAVID 2609 follower of Robert CAMPIN (Jacques DARET?) 196, 197 Berlaimont, Seigneurs de 214 St James 195, 436 156 n. 34. 157 nn. 3 7 & 3 9
Battista di Nicolao 193,194, Jacques de 217 n. 20 StSalvator 27, 119-21 see also family tree 153
195, 196, 197. 198 Bernard, Saint 189 confraternities: Cardigan, Thomas 383
Costanza see Trenta Berruguete, Pedro 267, 286, 289 Our Lady of the Dry Tree 33 Carlyle, Thomas 13
Elisabeth 196 Berry n. 12. 152, 155, 195, 196 Casanova. Giuseppe 45 n. 32
Giovanni (?) 174-211, 193 Caroline, Duchesse de 99 n. 5 Our Lady of the Snow 3 3 Castel Durante 286
LIST OF ATTRIBUTIONS C H A N G E D FROM THE 1968 CATALOGUE Giovanni di Arrigo 193, 194, John, Duke of 96, 189 n. 12. 195. 210 n. 240 Catherine, Infanta 180. 181
195-6, 197, 198, 199 Berthoz, Hippolyte de 3 72 Stlvo 436 Cats (Cricx). Alice 394 n. 4
Inventory Giovanni di Nicolao 193-5, Bessborough, Earl of 12 convents: Cavalcanti
Old attribution number New attribution 197-8, 199. 201, 208 n. 161 Biagio di Antonio 362, 367 Augustinian Friars 11921, Bartolomea and Ginevra 192,
'Helene te Jan Arnulphyns' Binchois, Gilles 220, 223 n. 11 196 194
style of Aelbrecht BOUTS 1083 Dirk BOUTS 208 n. 179 Blackere, Gilles le 220 Carmelites of Sion 20,116, Giovanni di Amerigo and
Jacopo di Nicolao 192, 194 Bladelin, Pieter 208 n. 167 128-9,132,151-2,154-5 Niccolo 194
Dirk BOUTS 7 74 workshop of Dirk BOUTS Jeanne see Cenami Blake, William 13 Dominicans 436 Cenami
follower of Dirk BOUTS 708 workshop of Dirk BOUTS Michele di Arrigo 193,195, Bliec, Anna and Marie 133 n. 51 Franciscans 436 Guglielmo 223 n. 21
Robert CAMPIN 196, 197, 198 Blois, Charles of, The Blessed 436 Rich Clares 195-6 Jacques 206 n, 80
2609 follower of Robert CAMPIN
Petronella 198 Boccaccio: Decameron 200 hospital of St John 46.48 Jean 195
Robert CAMPIN 6377 workshop of Robert CAMPIN see also family tree 192 Boels, Jan 50 see also 'Roger of Bruges' Jeanne 193, 195, 199. 206 n.
ascribed to Robert CAMPIN 653 Robert CAMPIN Arras Bogaert. Pieter 152 Bruggen (metten Gelde), Catharina 80. 208 n. 159, 209 n. 219,
imitator of Robert CAMPIN Abbey of St-Vaast 90,187 Bohn, Henry G. 17 n. 45 van der (wife of Dirk Bouts) 3 3 210 n. 258
658 after Hugo van der GOES Arundel, Thomas Howard, Earl of Boisseree, Melchior and Sulpiz n. 14. 38 Marc 209 n. 221
follower of Gerard DAVID 657 followers of Gerard DAVID 12, 212 12. 14, 72, 78 Brune Champaigne, Philippe de 17 n. 52
studio of Gerard DAVID (after Hugo van der GOES?) 3066 follower of Hugo van der GOES Asselt, Jan van der 201 Bonaparte. Joseph 176 Augustin de 33 n. 10 Charlemagne 200, 414
Aubert, David 419 Bonciani, Gaspare 129 Catharina and Jacomine de 151 Charles I, King of Great Britain 12
ascribed to GEERTGEN tot Sint Jans 4081 GEERTGEN tot Sint Jans Brussels 7, 29, 102 Charles V, Emperor 198, 207 n.
Austria Bonde, John 153
after Hugo van der GOES(?) 2159 after Hugo van der GOES Margaret of see Margaret of Bonkil, Edward 12 churches: 127,260,264, 298, 446 n. 29
JOOS van Wassenhove 755 JUSTUS of Ghent and workshop Austria Bonne of Artois, Duchess of Our Lady of the Zavel (Notre Charles V, King of France 205
Philip of see Philip the Burgundy 180, 181 Dame du Sablon) 27, n. 64
JOOS van Wassenhove 756 JUSTUS of Ghent and workshop Handsome Borromei 350-2 Charles VII, King of France 193
style of MARMION 1939 follower of Lieven van LATHEM Auxy, Jean d' 436 Borromeo 133 n. 20 StGudula 22. 346,407.425 Charles the Bold, Duke of
style of MARMION Axpoele, Willem van 201 Lisabetta 127, 133 n. 20 chapel of Saint Hubert Burgundy 50, 152, 154, 178,
2669 follower of MARMION 179, 187, 189, 193, 196, 197,
Bosch, Hieronymus 7, 156 n. 24 418-22.425
NETHERLANDISH School 2602 follower of Jan van EYCK Baegert. Derick 253 Bossche, Aert van den 33 n. 31, confraternities: 205 n. 64. 260, 352, 384-5
NETHERLANDISH School 2613 attributed to Pieter van CONINXLOO Bailleul, Gilles de 21 331 Crossbowmen 350-2 Chastellain, Georges 195
Balbani, Biagio 194 Botticelli, Sandro 288 Holy Cross 33 n. 12 Chaugy, Michel de 22
NETHERLANDISH School 3116 workshop of the MASTER OF THE MAGDALEN LEGEND Balbiano family 92, 98-9 Bouchout. Jan van 50 Coudenberg Gates 350-2, 351 Chevalier, Etienne 209 n. 206,
NETHERLANDISH School 3379 follower of the MASTER OF THE SAINT URSULA LEGEND Barbarigo Bouchoute, Nicolaus de 150 Maison de Jauche 350-2 372
studio of MEMLINC 686 Hans MEMLING Andrea and Francesco 226 Bourbon poelen 350 Chevrot, Jean 109 n. 31, 205
Marco 7, 12, 14, 21.224-7, Frangois of. Count of Vendome Wollendriestoren (Grosse Tour) n. 64
studio of MEMLINC 709 Hans MEMLING 226 210 n. 257 351 Christus, Petrus 12,13.17 n. 14.
Rogier van der WEYDEN 1433 workshop of van der WEYDEN brothers of 227 n. 21 Isabella of, Countess of Bugatto, Zanetto 20. 392 20, 25, 33 n. 12,48, 104-9,
Rogier van der WEYDEN Barbara, Francesco 194, 227 Charolais 430 Burgundy 178. 186, 187, 189, 226,231,
6265 attributed to the workshop of van der WEYDEN Adolf of, Lord of Veere 161 244.252,432
n. 21 Louis, Duke of 208 n. 161
follower of Rogier van der WEYDEN 783 Rogier van der WEYDEN and workshop Barbo, Marco 227 n. 29 Bousies. Marie de 21 Cornells of 352 Claeissens, Antoon 119, 256