Tags
1400s, 15th Century, art, Artists, Belgium, Brussels, Flemish Painting, Painters, Paintings, Religious, Renaissance, Rogier van der Weyden
Name: Rogier van der Weyden
Work: Painter
Born: 1399/00
Died: 1464
Worked In: Brussels, Belgium
Period: Early Flemish Painting
Influences: Robert Campin (his tutor)
What I have learnt about his work in general:
Rogier van der Weyden mainly painted religious works and portraits and was famous for his naturalism, espectially his realistic (though sometimes idealised) facial features painted from life models. He created a deep sense of emotion through the use of strong lines and rich colour, with great variation in tone. He was also a master of perspective and composition.
Descent from the Cross, Rogier van der Weyden
Oil on oak panel
~1435
Museo del Prado, Madrid
In this painting of Christ being taken down from the cross I feel Van der Weyden was trying to create a great emotional impact on the viewer. The vivid primary colours grab the viewer’s attention, while the realistic emotions on the mourners’ faces encourages the viewer to experience and share in the pain and sadness of the scene. The shallow space in which the scene is conveyed makes it seem the figures are almost protruding into the world of the viewer. Christ’s body is positioned in the T-shape of the crossbow as the commission was from the Leuven guild of archers. Mary’s body echoes this shape, which indicates Mary’s significance alongside Christ, as well as their joint suffering.
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