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Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, 14.14

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Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, 14.14

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© Copyright The National Gallery, London 2021

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Watch for a 360 view of the sculpture

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Video transcript

[Music] we're standing on a wooden walkway suspended over water which is actually fairly deep well this is a well after all we are looking at a beautiful monument by Klaus looter called the well of Moses now it got that title fairly recently it was originally known as the great cross but of course the cross is no longer here so let's give this a little bit of context a lot of things are no longer here right this Monument stood in the middle of a cloister surrounded by the cells of Carthusian monks the rooms where they would meditate and this voice tur was in a monastery established by Philip the bold the Duke of Burgundy so we're talking about the late 14th century where in Burgundy in dijon or rather i should say just outside of the old walls of the city and this was a place that the duke had commissioned in order that monks could continuously say prayers over his soul it also was intended by it philip and became his burial place in the burial place of his family it's important to remember that the Constitution's are a closed society that is they dedicate themselves entirely to solitary prayer what better environment to ensure the salvation of your soul for eternity well it's interesting that had Philip the bold the Duke actually seems to have really loved the Carthusians in fact he specified that he would be buried in a Carthusian robe and of course he wanted to be buried here so we're looking at a very well funded monastery the most brilliant artists of Europe are working here including Klaus looter and we're looking up at a hexagonal structure on each side is a prophet standing in front of a niche but interestingly and importantly this is breaking with the medieval tradition of having this figure is completely embedded within the architecture each figure the Prophet is separated by a lovely column with a capital and standing on those cap turtles are angels in positions of grieving and prayer with their wings outstretched and above them we see a base and on that base would have stood a very tall and narrow cross with Christ on it and at the base of that cross the single kneeling figure of Mary Magdalene all of this was painted we could see blue there would have been gold and green so it really would have come alive and the monks would have been inspired in their prayer when they looked at this monument Schlueter is able to give a kind of individual life to each figure the drapery really does give a sense of the movement of the body within it maybe not so much the structures of the body but at least its engagement with the space around it and look up at the figure of King David first of all figure that would have been very important to the Duke of Burgundy David himself a king but he's so specific so individualized there's a depth and sense of wisdom and his personality there's a recent suggestion that that figure next to King David who is the Prophet Jeremiah is also a portrait of Philip the bold and in fact if we look at contemporary portraits of Philip they look awfully similar and Moses is looking out past us above us as a seer but Zachariah looks down and almost offers us his prophecy it also challenges us challenges the monks that would have lived with this sculpture do you see as I see do you understand the importance of the tragedy of the spiritual miracle that transpires above we have these angels all in different positions some with their arms folded on their chest some with their arms raised some clutching their drapery or touching their face so there's a depth of emotion in the figures of the prophets and a real depth of emotion in the Angels all of which I think would have been inspiration to the monks that's important to remember I mean here we are the well the center of life of the monastery the monastery itself was meant to continuously pray for the soul of the Duke so in some ways this sculptural group of what we now call the well of Moses was the engine in the center of the monastery that was meant to power in a sense inspire the prayer of the Monza it is one of the most spectacular late medieval sculptures that certainly I've ever seen [Music]

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Sluter, Well of Moses (video) | Khan Academy

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Claus Sluter (with Claus de Werve), The Well of Moses, 1395-1405 (calvary finished 1399, prophets 1402-05, painted by Jean Malouel c. 1402), Asnières stone with gilding and polychromy, slightly less than 7 meters high, originally close to 13 meters with cross.

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Workshop of Robert Campin, Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece), 14.8

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Workshop of Robert Campin, Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece), 14.8

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On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 19

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Workshop of Robert Campin | Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece) | South Netherlandish | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Marking: Arms (central panel, left window): D’or au chevron de sable charge sur sa pointe d’une chaine de quatre chainons d’argent elle meme placee en chevron. For Ingelbrechts (Ingelbrechts or Ymbrechts) of Malines and Spain

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Zoom in to see the details of the Arnolfini Portrait

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Zoom in to see the details of the Arnolfini Portrait

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Look in the mirror!

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Jan van Eyck, Man in a Red Turban, Self-Portrait, 13

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Jan van Eyck, Man in a Red Turban, Self-Portrait, 13

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Jan van Eyck, Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban (Self-Portrait?), 1433

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Rogier van der Weyden, Descent from the Cross, 14.15

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Rogier van der Weyden, Descent from the Cross, 14.15

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El Descendimiento se pintó para la capilla de Nuestra Señora Extramuros de Lovaina, que fue fundada en el siglo XIV por el gremio de ballesteros, vendida en 1798 y demolida poco después. La ocupación de los fundadores queda indicada por las dos pequeñas ballestas que cuelgan en la tracería de las dos esquinas mayores de la tabla. La copia más antigua que puede fecharse, el Tríptico Edelheere de 1443 ( Lovaina, iglesia de San Pedro), demuestra que ya estaba terminado en ese año. Comprado a la capilla lovaniense por María de Hungría, en 1549 colgaba en la capilla de su palacio en Binche. Antes de 1564 su sobrino Felipe II lo tenía en la capilla del Pardo, uno de sus palacios madrileños. Llevado al Escorial en 1566, permaneció allí hasta su traslado al Museo del Prado en 1939. El Descendimiento responde a la forma habitual en Brabante para el elemento central de los grandes retablos con varias alas. Es probable que el remate superior tuviera sus propias alas pequeñas y que el resto estuviera protegido por dos cierres rectangulares, posiblemente sin imágenes. En 1566, Felipe II encargó nuevas tablas para estos cierres, que fueron pintadas por Navarrete el Mudo y que luego, al igual que los originales, desaparecieron sin dejar rastro.

Todavía con la corona de espinas, Cristo muestra un cuerpo bello pero no atlético, y no se aprecian en él las huellas de la flagelación: como en otros casos, la fidelidad anatómica se sacrifica a la elegancia de las formas. Más raro es que no tenga propiamente barba, pues la incipiente y cerrada que vemos debe entenderse como crecida durante los días de tormento. Tiene los ojos en blanco, y muy levemente abierto el derecho, justo para que se vea el globo como una diminuta mancha clara. De la herida que tiene en el costado mana sangre, que se está coagulando, y también agua como se dice en Juan, 19, 34. El paño de pureza -que es uno de los velos de la Virgen- es tan transparente que se ve con claridad la sangre que fluye por debajo y que sin embargo no llega a mancharlo. Bajan el cuerpo de la cruz tres hombres. El de más edad es probablemente Nicodemo, fariseo y jefe judío ( Juan, 3, 1-21; 7, 50). El más joven, que parece un criado, tiene los dos clavos -sanguinolentos y de espeluznante longitud- que han quitado de las manos de Cristo y ha logrado que la sangre no manche sus ropas: un pañuelo blanco, unas medias también blancas y una casaca de damasco azul claro. La figura que viste de dorado es probablemente José de Arimatea, el hombre rico que consiguió que le entregasen el cuerpo de Cristo y lo enterró en un sepulcro nuevo que reservaba para sí ( Mateo, 27, 57-60). Su fisonomía es muy parecida a la del Retrato de un hombre robusto ( Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, inv. 74). La mujer que, a la derecha del todo, entrecruza las manos es la Magdalena. El hombre barbado y vestido de verde que está detrás de José de Arimatea es probablemente otro criado. El tarro que sostiene puede ser el atributo de la Magdalena, con lo que contendría el perfume de nardo, auténtico y costoso con que ella ungió los pies de Jesús ( Juan, 12, 3). A la izquierda, la Virgen se ha desvanecido y ha caído al suelo en una postura que repite la del cuerpo muerto de Cristo. Sufriendo con él, está viviendo su Compassio. Tiene los ojos en blanco, entrecerrados. Las lágrimas resbalan por su rostro, y junto a la barbilla una de ellas está a punto de gotear. La sujeta san Juan Evangelista, ayudado por una mujer vestida de verde que es probablemente María Salomé, hermanastra de la Virgen y madre de Juan. Y la mujer que está situada detrás del santo puede ser María Cleofás, la otra hermanastra de la Virgen.

El espacio contenido en la caja dorada no tiene nada que ver con el espacio que ocupan las figuras. En el remate superior, la cruz está inmediatamente detrás de la tracería, pero cuando descendemos vemos que delante de la cruz hay espacio para Nicodemo, Cristo y la Virgen. Sabedor de que esas incongruencias espaciales no podían ser demasiado evidentes, Van der Weyden ocultó las principales intersecciones. Alargó así de manera extraordinaria la pierna izquierda de la Virgen, de manera que el pie y el manto escondieran la base de la cruz y uno de los largueros de la escalera. La postura del hombre de verde está forzada para que su pie derecho y el ribete de piel de su vestido oculten en parte el otro larguero. Aunque estos subterfugios no son apreciables de manera inmediata, las perspectivas falsas producen una sensación de incomodidad en el espectador, que no puede dejar de advertirlas. Dentro de este escenario, las figuras trazan una estructura lineal perfectamente equilibrada. La cruz se halla en el centro exacto de la tabla. La postura de Cristo se duplica en la de la Virgen, y son también similares las de María Salomé y José de Arimatea, que establecen entre ellas una sintonía visual. San Juan y la Magdalena funcionan en cambio como paréntesis que abrazan al grupo central. Con los pies cruzados, la Magdalena tiene que apoyarse en el lateral de la caja dorada para mantenerse en pie. Pese a ello se está deslizando hacia el suelo, donde compondría una imagen poco decorosa. Ninguna de las figuras está firmemente apoyada sobre sus pies; en su mayoría están a punto de derrumbarse. Se produce así en el espectador una impresión de inmutable estabilidad que se contradice de inmediato. La cabeza de Cristo está situada en un eje horizontal que ya resulta poco natural, pero además la perspectiva de la nariz está forzada para subrayar aún más esa horizontalidad. Como todo el cuadro recibe una fuerte luz desde la derecha, el artista puede iluminar el rostro de Cristo desde abajo, de manera que las partes que normalmente estarían en sombra sean muy luminosas. Otro elemento que contribuye, aunque de manera distinta, a la extrañeza que produce la imagen es la incipiente e inesperada barba. Y las espinas que se clavan en la frente y la oreja transmiten dolor. Pero es el expresivo empleo de la estructura, la luz y la irracionalidad lo que más subraya el horror de la escena.

Es probable que Van der Weyden empezara por realizar un boceto detallado para que fuera aprobado por sus clientes. Después lo copió a mano alzada con largas pinceladas ricas en aglutinante, para obtener el audaz dibujo subyacente que muestra la reflectografía infrarroja. Pero al pintar no siempre siguió ese dibujo subyacente: colocó más bajas las cabezas de María Salomé, José de Arimatea y el hombre barbado de verde, y modificó también algunas manos y pies, los travesaños de la escalera y muchas zonas de los paños. Esos cambios de opinión son siempre interesantes, y el dibujo subyacente, realizado con viveza y audacia, revela una creatividad espontánea que puede sorprender a muchos de los que lo ven. Así, el microscopio o los detalles fotográficos sumamente ampliados son el mejor camino para apreciar la seguridad y rapidez de su técnica y la confianza de su pincelada (Texto extractado de Campbell, L. en: Rogier van der Weyden, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2015, pp. 74-81).

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El Descendimiento se pintó para la capilla de Nuestra Señora Extramuros de Lovaina, que fue fundada en el siglo XIV por el gremio de ballesteros, vendida en 1798 y demolida poco después. La ocupación de los fundadores queda indicada por las dos pequeñas ballestas que cuelgan en la tracería de las dos esquinas mayores de la tabla.

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Jacques Daret, woodcut of St. Christopher, Annunciation (Detail), 14.30

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Jacques Daret, woodcut of St. Christopher, Annunciation (Detail), 14.30

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Design Library Image Collection, NCSU Libraries

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Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium

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Martin Schongauer, The Temptation of St. Anthony, 14.31

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Martin Schongauer, The Temptation of St. Anthony, 14.31

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How is he so chill about this?

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The Temptation of St. Anthony

Catalogue raisonné: Lehrs V.243.54

State: II/II

Did you know?

Prints of Saint Anthony like this one were believed to function as protective tools against ergotism (also called St. Anthony's Fire), a disease causing painful putrefaction of the limbs cased by fungus found on rye.

Description

Saint Anthony (c. AD 251-356) was an Egyptian hermit known for having established the ideal of monasticism, seclusion, and meditation in Christianity. According to the Life of Saint Anthony written by the 20th bishop of Alexandria Athanasius (c. AD 360), Anthony was assaulted by several demons and tormented by erotic visions during his retreat to the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Martin Schongauer's print marks the very moment in which a highly animated demonic attack took place in the sky. Nine whimsical monsters-composed of reptilian, mammalian, and fish- and bird-like parts-flap, blow, and grasp a stiff and indifferent Saint Anthony. With his firm discipline, the saint epitomizes the Christian's struggle to resist evil temptations.

Artist biography

Martin Schongauer

Martin Schongauer (ca. 1450-53, Colmar - 2 February 1491, Breisach) was one of the most skilled and influential graphic artists of Europe in the last quarter of the 15h century. Trained both as an engraver and as a painter, Schongauer started his apprenticeship under his father Caspar Schongauer, a goldsmith from Augsburg. In 1465, he matriculated at the University of Leipzig. After one year, he left his studies, and came back to Colmar. There, he was trained under the painter Caspar Isenmann, between 1466 and 1469. Schongauer later traveled down to the Rhine, Cologne, Burgundy, the Netherlands, and he likely visited Spain. In 1489, he became a citizen of Breisach, where he died probably of the plague in 1491. Only a few of Schongauer's paintings survive. Among these is the Madonna in the Rose Garden for the Church of Saint Martin in Colmar (1473), which betrays Schongauer's admiration for the works by the Netherlandish painter Roger Van der Weyden. The bulk of Schongauer's engravings is more conspicuous: 116 prints, none of them dated, but all marked by his monogram M+S. Characterized by exquisite cross-hatching and impeccable craftsmanship, Schongauer's engravings were widely imitated by the German printmakers Ishrael van Meckenem and Albrecht Durer, as well as by Italian artists, such as Cristoforo Robetta and Nicoletto da Modena.

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925. Mentioned and Reproduced: 39 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928. Reproduced: p. 47 archive.org

Mikolic, Amanda. A Field Guide to Medieval Monsters. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2019. Reproduced: p. 6

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance information, is based on historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on objects is an ongoing process, but the information about this object may not reflect the most current information available to CMA. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

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Catalogue raisonné: Lehrs V.243.54 State: II/II Prints of Saint Anthony like this one were believed to function as protective tools against ergotism (also called St. Anthony's Fire), a disease causing painful putrefaction of the limbs cased by fungus found on rye. Saint Anthony (c.

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Lorenzo Ghiberti, The Story of Jacob and Esau panel

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Lorenzo Ghiberti, The Story of Jacob and Esau panel

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On the upper right, Rebecca receives the prophecy of the conflict between her sons, Esau and Jacob. On the left, within an arcaded interior, Rebecca gives birth. At the centre, Esau sells his birthright as the elder twin to Jacob. Isaac has instructed Esau to go hunting, but within the arcaded space Rebecca hatches her plan for Jacob to receive the blessing of their father. At the centre right, Jacob sets off to hunt. In the far right Jacob, pretending to be his brother offering goat meat and, mistaken by the blind Isaac for Esau, receives his father's blessing. At the centre, Esau is informed by Isaac that his brother has received the blessing.

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During the Renaissance, European artists began to study nature more closely with the goal of painting realistic images of the world. These artists learned to create lifelike people and animals, and they became skilled at creating the illusion of depth and distance on flat walls and canvases by using the techniques of linear perspective.

Da Vinci's powers of observation and skill as an illustrator enabled him to notice and recreate the effects he saw in nature, adding a special liveliness to his portraits. Fueled by curiosity, Leonardo constantly tried to explain what he saw. Because he wrote down and sketched so many of his observations in his notebooks, we know that he was among the very first to take a scientific approach towards understanding how our world works and how we see it.
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Leonardo recognized that one way to paint scenes realistically was to observe with great care how animals, people, and landscapes really looked. He was also careful to notice the differences in how an object looked when it was close by or farther away, and when it was seen in bright light or in dim light. He wrote detailed notes on his observations and made sketches of the things he saw in his notebooks throughout his life.

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Da Vinci created the illustrations for "De Divina Proportione" (On the Divine Proportion), a book about mathematics written by Luca Pacioli around 1498 and first published in 1509. The book was about mathematical proportions, such as the golden ratio it is named for, and their applications to art and architecture. Da Vinci's use of the golden ratio is evident in some of his own works, even before his collaboration with Pacioli.

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