Bernard van Orley (between 1487 and 1491 – 6 January 1541), also called Barend or Barent van Orley, Bernaert van Orley or Barend van Brussel, was a versatile Flemish artist and representative of
Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting
Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting represents the 16th-century response to Italian Renaissance art in the Low Countries. These artists, who span from the Antwerp Mannerists and Hieronymus Bosch at the start of the 16th century to the late No ...
, who was equally active as a designer of
tapestries
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
and, at the end of his life, stained glass. Although he never visited Italy, he belongs to the group of Italianizing Flemish painters called the
Romanists, who were influenced by
Italian Renaissance painting
Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political stat ...
, in his case especially by
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
.
He was born and died in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and "served as a sort of commissioner of the arts for the Brussels town council". He was the court artist of the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
rulers. He was extremely productive, concentrating on the design of his works, and leaving their execution largely to others, in the case of painting, and entirely so, in the case of the tapestries and stained glass. This he may have learned from Raphael, whose workshop in Rome was unprecedentedly large.
Due to his reliance on workshop execution, his many surviving works vary considerably in quality. Many drawings, mostly studies for designs for tapestries and stained glass, also survive. He or his workshop would have produced full-scale
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
s for the tapestries, but these were normally lost in the course of weaving, when they were cut into strips. The prevalent subject matter of his paintings are religious scenes and portraits, and he painted only a limited number of mythological and allegorical subjects. His portraits mostly depict members of the Habsburg dynasty and were produced in multiple versions by his workshop. The subject matter of his tapestries was more varied, reflecting the normal range of that medium, from biblical cycles to allegories, battle and hunting scenes.
His father had been a tapestry designer in Brussels, and several of Bernard's descendants were artists. A number of them were still active in the 18th century.
Family
![Barend van Orley - Portrait of Charles V - Google Art Project](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Barend_van_Orley_-_Portrait_of_Charles_V_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
His family came originally from Luxembourg, descendants from the Seigneurs d'Ourle or d'Orley. His branch of the family then moved to the
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...
, where his father Valentin van Orley (ca. 1466 - Brussels 1532) was born as an illegitimate child and lost his noble lineage. Bernard and his brother Everard (who would also become a painter) were both born in Brussels.
The painted wing panels of the sculpted Saluzzo
retable
A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...
are attributed to Valentin van Orley, describing the ''Life of St. Joseph'' (ca. 1510). The retable itself is
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
in style, but these wing panels already show some characteristic of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
style (City Museum of Brussels). The panels of the ''Life of St. Roch'' in the
Saint James' Church, Antwerp
St. James' Church ( nl, Sint-Jacobskerk) is a former Collegiate church in Antwerp, Belgium. The church is built on the site of a hostel for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. The present building is the work of the Waghemakere family and Rombou ...
have been ascribed to Everard van Orley.
In 1512 Bernard van Orley married Agnes Seghers; in 1539, shortly after Agnes' death, he married Catherina Hellinckx. He had nine children. His four boys followed in the footsteps of their father and also became painters.
Apprenticeship
It is sometimes presumed that Bernard van Orley completed his art education in Rome in the school of
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
, however there are no reliable sources to prove this. At that time, there were only a few painters with some renown in Brussels, such as Van Laethem and painters from the Coninxloo family. It is therefore much more likely that he was initially taught in the workshop of his father, an obscure painter whose name appears as "master" in the "Liggere" (registers) of the Guild of St. Luke of
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, and who had several pupils.
Bernard van Orley received his knowledge of the Renaissance style from engravings and the
Raphael Cartoons
The Raphael Cartoons are seven large cartoons for tapestries, belonging to the British Royal Collection but since 1865 on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, designed by the High Renaissance painter Raphael in 1515–16 and showi ...
for tapestries of scenes from the ''
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
'' that were present in Brussels between 1516 and 1520; they are now in London. They were made to be woven into tapestries for Pope
Leo X
Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521.
Born into the prominent political an ...
by
Pieter van Aalst.
Paintings
![Bernaerd van Orley - Altarpiece of Saints Thomas and Matthias - Google Art Project](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Bernaerd_van_Orley_-_Altarpiece_of_Saints_Thomas_and_Matthias_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
One of his earliest signed works dates from 1512: the "''Triptych of the Carpenters and Masons Corporation of Brussels''", also called the ''Apostle Altar''. The central panel is in the
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal do ...
in Vienna, and the side panels in the
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...
, Brussels. It recounts the lives of two apostles Thomas and Matthew. It was originally commissioned for a chapel in the
Our Blessed Lady of Zavel Church
nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Zavelkerk
, native_name_lang =
, image = Brussels, église Notre Dame du Sablon oeg2043-00070 foto7 2015-06-07 13.28.jpg
, image_size = 250px
, alt =
, caption ...
in Brussels.
In his early works he continued the traditions of
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
,
Rogier van der Weyden
Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...
and their followers, but then he gradually began integrating the Italianate motifs of the Renaissance, representing figure types and the spatial relationship such as found in the works of
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
.
In 1515 he was asked to take over the commission of a triptych for the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross in a chapel in the Sint-Walburga church in
Veurne
Veurne (; french: Furnes, italic=no, ) is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , , , , Houtem, , , Wulveringem, and .
History
Origins up ...
. He finished and delivered it in 1522. The left panel is on display in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium. The front shows Saint Helena meeting the pope in an architectural setting of Renaissance buildings and Italianate motifs. The back is a
grisaille
Grisaille ( or ; french: grisaille, lit=greyed , from ''gris'' 'grey') is a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish colour. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many g ...
painting of Christ falling under the Cross. The right panel is on display in the
Galleria Sabauda
The Galleria Sabauda is an art collection in the Italian city of Turin, which contains the royal art collections amassed by the House of Savoy over the centuries. It is located on Via XX Settembre, 86.
The museum, whose first directors were Rober ...
, Turin, showing
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
receiving the relics of the Passion.
From 1515 on, he and his workshop received many orders for portraits, including from the royal family and from people connected to the court. In 1516 he painted seven portraits of
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
, who had just become King of Spain, and portraits of his brother Ferdinand, the later King of Hungary, and his four sisters (destined for the King of Denmark).
The 1516 painted copy of the
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin ( it, Sindone di Torino), also known as the Holy Shroud ( it, Sacra Sindone, links=no or ), is a length of linen cloth bearing the negative image of a man. Some describe the image as depicting Jesus of Nazareth and bel ...
, commonly attributed to
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
, is also sometimes attributed to Bernard van Orley. By 1517 he was recognized as a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke.
On 23 May 1518 he was appointed as the official
court painter
A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...
to the Regent of the Netherlands
Margaret of Austria, replacing
Jacopo de' Barbari
Jacopo de' Barbari, sometimes known or referred to as de'Barbari, de Barberi, de Barbari, Barbaro, Barberino, Barbarigo or Barberigo (c. 1460/70 – before 1516), was an Italian painter, printmaker and miniaturist with a highly individual style. ...
.
In this position, he became the head of an important workshop, making him one of the first entrepreneurial artists in Northern Europe. With this workshop he produced paintings and, especially after 1525, became a leading designer of tapestry cartoons and stained glass windows. He held this position until 1527 when he, his family and several other artists, fell into disgrace because of their Protestant sympathies. The family fled Brussels and settled in Antwerp. Five years later, he returned to Brussels when he was reinstated by the new Regent of the Netherlands,
Maria of Austria. After his death in 1541, he was succeeded as court painter by his pupil
.
Among his most important paintings is the ''Triptych of the Virtue of Patience'' (
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...
, Brussels), also called the Job altarpiece, commissioned in 1521 by Margaret of Austria to illustrate a poem she wrote about the virtue of patience. The interior panels represent the trials of
Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
, while the outer panels recount the parable of
Lazarus and Dives
The rich man and Lazarus (also called the parable of Dives and Lazarus or Lazarus and Dives) is a parable of Jesus from the 16th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Speaking to his disciples and some Pharisees, Jesus tells of an unnamed rich man a ...
(instead of the usual grisaille paintings of saints). This triptych is completely by the hand of Bernard van Orley. He must have been especially proud of his work as he signed it twice and added his coat of arms as well as his monogram BVO and the motto 'ELX SYNE TYT' ("each his own time"). This relates to his artistic opinion that an artist should be a man fully integrated in his time.
[Autour de Bernard Van Orley, Peter de Kempeneeret son compagnon]
(in French)
![Bernaerd van Orley 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Bernaerd_van_Orley_002.jpg)
The same museum houses another triptych by the same painter: ''The Haneton Triptych''. This triptych was commissioned by Philippe Haneton, first secretary in the Secret Counsel of Charles V. The middle panel depicts a poignant
pietà
The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...
against an archaic golden background, painted in a very personal style with influences of the
Flemish Primitives
Early Netherlandish painting, traditionally known as the Flemish Primitives, refers to the work of artists active in the Burgundian Netherlands, Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period. ...
and
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
. Bernard van Orley was, together with
Jan Gossaert
Jan Gossaert (c. 1478 – 1 October 1532) was a French-speaking painter from the Low Countries also known as Jan Mabuse (the name he adopted from his birthplace, Maubeuge) or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (County of Hainaut, Hainaut), as he called him ...
, among the first to introduce strong musculature in Flemish paintings. The left panel shows Philippe Haneton and his sons, and the right panel his wife and her daughters.
The triptych ''The Last Judgment'' (
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (Dutch: ''Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen'', ''KMSKA'') is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1810, that houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings from the fourteenth t ...
), was commissioned by the almoners of the
Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp
The Cathedral of Our Lady ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never bee ...
in 1525, is one of his best works in its originality and mastery. The paintings in grisaille on the back were executed by
Peter de Kempeneer, who was, at that time, an apprentice in the van Orley's workshop.
The ''Altarpiece of Calvary'' in the
Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in Bruges, dates from 1534. It was commissioned by Margaret of Austria originally for the funeral monument in the church of Brou in
Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse (; frp, Bôrg) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Ain Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ...
in Burgundy. The side panels were finished much later by Marcus Gerards the Elder and brought to Bruges by
Margaret of Parma
Margaret of Parma (; 5 July 1522 – 18 January 1586) was Governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582. She was the illegitimate daughter of the then 22-year-old Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Johanna Maria van der G ...
, regent of the Netherlands under king
Philip II of Spain
Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
. The central part represent the Calvary, the left panel the
Crown of Thorns
According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the instru ...
, the Scourging of Christ and Christ carrying the Cross. The right panel depicts the
Pietà
The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...
and the
Limbo
In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...
of the Just.
![Virgen con el Niño (Van Orley)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Virgen_con_el_Ni%C3%B1o_%28Van_Orley%29.jpg)
His portraits were more subdued and thoughtful, such as his portraits of
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
and
Margaret of Austria. He usually represents his subjects in a seated static position, their expressionless faces without much psychological depth or feelings. His workshop produced several copies of these portraits, especially the portraits of Charles V and of Margaret of Austria. They were offered as gift to visitors or courtiers.
He usually represented saints in a full-length portrait, such as his ''Mary with Child and John the Baptist'' (Museo del
Prado
The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum
An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It migh ...
, Madrid), with a background of an open colonnade, a
baldachin
A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...
or a set of trees. This type of composition can be found in many 16th-century paintings.
Bernard van Orley often signed his paintings, especially in his early period before 1521, with the coat of arms of the Seigneurs d'Orley:
argent
In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
two pallets
gules
In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple).
In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...
. It had been contended that these are the signature of his father Valentin.
When
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
visited the Netherlands in 1520 to be present at the coronation of the new emperor, Charles V, he called Bernard van Orley "the Raphael of the Netherlands". Dürer, who stayed as a guest in van Orley's house between 27 August and 2 September 1520, also drew a
portrait
A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...
which some scholars identify as van Orley. Dürer had a profound influence on van Orley who in his later works tried to find a synthesis between Dürer and another Renaissance master, Raphael.
Some important pupils of van Orley were
,
Pieter Coecke van Aelst
Pieter Coecke van Aelst or Pieter Coecke van Aelst the Elder ( Aalst, 14 August 1502 – Brussels, 6 December 1550) was a Flemish painter, sculptor, architect, author and designer of woodcuts, goldsmith's work, stained glass and tapestries. and
Pieter de Kempeneer, who continued in the style of
Romanism
Romanism is a derogatory term for Roman Catholicism used when anti-Catholicism was more common in the United States.
The term was frequently used in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Republican invectives against the Democrats, as par ...
. Other pupils, such as
Lancelot Blondeel
Lancelot Blondeel, also Lanceloot (1498 – 4 March 1561), was a Flemish painter, designer of sculptures, tapestries and jewelry, architect, city planner, surveyor and cartographer who was active in Bruges.[Jan Vermeyen
Jan Vermeyen (before 1559 – 1606) was a goldsmith of the Renaissance Mannerism.
Jan Vermeyen was born in Brussels, the son of a Flemish painter Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen in Brussels. He was educated in goldsmithery and started his career be ...]
continued in the painter-designer tradition of their master.
Together with
Jan Gossaert
Jan Gossaert (c. 1478 – 1 October 1532) was a French-speaking painter from the Low Countries also known as Jan Mabuse (the name he adopted from his birthplace, Maubeuge) or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (County of Hainaut, Hainaut), as he called him ...
and
Quentin Matsys
Quentin Matsys ( nl, Quinten Matsijs) (1466–1530) was a Flemish painter in the Early Netherlandish tradition. He was born in Leuven. There is a tradition alleging that he was trained as an ironsmith before becoming a painter. Matsys was active ...
, Bernard van Orley is regarded as one of the leading innovators of the 16th-century Flemish painting, by adopting the style and manner of the Italian Renaissance. His paintings are executed with great care to minute details and stand out by their brilliant colours.
Tapestries
![Jacob503](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Jacob503.JPG)
During this period, tapestries were held in higher esteem than paintings, and were more expensive, often woven with gold and silver thread. They had additional value as decoration and insulation for the large, bare and cold walls of palaces and church choirs.
[ (in Dutch)]
Bernard van Orley had already started designing tapestries in his youth, but after 1530 he seemed to have stopped painting altogether, applying himself solely to cartoons for tapestries and designs for stained-glass windows.
![Bernard Van Orley - The Surrender of King Francis I](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Bernard_Van_Orley_-_The_Surrender_of_King_Francis_I.jpg)
One of the first tapestry cartoons ascribed to him were the four cartoons for the ''Legend of Our-Lady-on-the-
Zavel (Legend of Notre-Dame on the
Sablon)'' (1516–1518), commissioned by Frans van Taxis. One of them represents the patron and two emperors,
Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to:
*Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519
*Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651
*Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689)
*Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795 ...
and his father
Frederick III. This is an allusion to the
postal contract obtained by Frans von Taxis, giving him a monopoly for the postal system between Brussels and the rest of the empire. The style of these tapestries is traditional with an overcrowded composition set in a two-dimensional plane.
From the 1520s on, under the influence of the
Raphael tapestries woven at Brussels for
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521.
Born into the prominent political an ...
, van Orley's tapestries began to increasingly resemble paintings, more in line with the aesthetics of the Renaissance, as can be seen in his ''Passion'' series - one set in the
Royal Palace of Madrid
The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies.
The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...
and the other set dispersed over several museums - and the ''Lamentation'' in the
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
, Washington, D.C. These tapestries, some woven by Pieter de Pannemaeker, clearly show the influence of the tapestry cartoons of
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
and the work of Dürer in the rendering of the figure types. Since Dürer had been a guest in the house of van Orley at the time the contracts for these tapestries were signed, it is possible that the two artists may have discussed the design. For the first time in "Passion" tapestries, the figures received dramatic weight through their large size and their position in the foreground.
File:Manif. di bruxelles su dis.di bernart von orley, arazzi della battaglia di pavia, fuga dei francesi e diniego degli svizzeri, IGMN144485, 1526-31.JPG, 1
File:Manif. di bruxelles su dis.di bernart von orley, arazzi della battaglia di pavia, cattura di francesco I di francia, IGMN144489, 1526-31.JPG, 2
File:Manif. di bruxelles su dis.di bernart von orley, arazzi della battaglia di pavia, attacco alla gendarmeria francese, IGMN144483, 1526-31.JPG, 3
La batalla de Pavía, tapiz basado en una pintura de Bernard van Orley.jpg, 4
File:Battle of Pavia.jpg, 5
File:Manif. di bruxelles su dis.di bernart von orley, arazzi della battaglia di pavia, sortita e annegamento degli svizzeri nel ticino, IGMN144488, 1526-31.JPG, 6
File:Manif. di bruxelles su dis.di bernart von orley, arazzi della battaglia di pavia, fuga dei francesi altre il ticino, IGMN144487, 1526-31.JPG, 7
Later life
![Bernard van Orley - Joris van Zelle - WGA16695](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Bernard_van_Orley_-_Joris_van_Zelle_-_WGA16695.jpg)
Van Orley became a member of the Brotherhood of St. Sebastian in the church of
St. Gaugericus
Saint Gaugericus, in French Saint Géry (also known as Gorik, Gau; in Walloon, Djèri) ( 550 – August 11, 619) was a bishop of Cambrai, France.
Biography
He was born to Roman parents, Gaudentius and Austadiola, at ''Eposium'' (present Ca ...
. More than half of the members of this brotherhood were weavers by profession.
In his later years (1521–1530) he made the twelve small cartoons (also called by their French name ''petits patrons''), perhaps with the help of Jan Geethels, for his best-known tapestry series, ''The Hunts of Maximilian'' (
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
, Paris). Each of the twelve tapestries represented a different month of the year. They were commissioned by emperor Charles V or someone at the imperial court. It took two years and sixty weavers to realize them. These hunts took place in the vicinity of Brussels or in the
Sonian Forest
The Sonian Forest or Sonian Wood ( nl, Zoniënwoud, french: Forêt de Soignes, ) is a forest at the southeast edge of Brussels, Belgium.
The Sonian Forest was a favorite hunting ground of the Habsburg Imperial family, and as such features promi ...
. In the cartoons the rigidity of the composition makes way to a greater dynamism. He displayed his talent for depicting large-scale scenes of imaginary hunts within a realistic, picturesque, and minutely detailed landscape. For this project, van Orley sought the help of specialists in hunting and consulted the ''Livre de Chasse'' (''Hunting Manual'') by
Gaston Phoebus
Gaston Fébus (also spelt Phoebus) (30 April 1331 – 1391) was the eleventh count of Foix (as Gaston III) and twenty-fourth viscount of Béarn (as Gaston X) from 1343 until his death.
Early life
Gaston was born either in Orthez or Foix, the e ...
. With those cartoons he, and also Johannes
Stradanus
Stradanus, Johannes Stradanus, Jan van der Straet or Giovanni StradanoMore name variations: Johannes Stradanus, Giovanni della Strada, Johannes della Strada, Giovanni Stradano, Johannes Stradano, Giovanni Stradanus, Johannes Stradanus, Jan van St ...
, set an example for their followers by opening up new paths in Italianism with their classic breadth and ease in transforming the rendering of landscapes, successfully integrating it into Netherlandish traditional modes. This dynamism would reach its peak in the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style and the work of
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
. The
iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
of hunting parties would be greatly imitated by the tapestry workshops of the Leyniers family - especially Everaert Leyniers (1597–1680) - the leading dyers and weavers in Brussels for over four hundred years.
Another famous set of tapestries were commissioned by
Henry III of Nassau-Breda
Count Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg-Dietz (January 12, 1483, Siegen – September 14, 1538, Breda), Lord (from 1530 Baron) of Breda, Lord of the Lek, of Dietz, etc. was a count of the House of Nassau.
He was the son of Count John V of Nassau-D ...
at about 1528-1530. They were to glorify the ancestors of the
House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count o ...
. The tapestries were lost in a fire in 1760, but the cartoons still exist and are in the collection of the
Metropolitan Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
(New York). These tapestries were among the first to unite equestrian portraiture with more informal group portraiture.
The ''
Battle of Pavia
The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as ruler of Spain, Au ...
'' is another set of seven tapestries on display in the
Museo di Capodimonte
Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Italia ...
(Naples, Italy), while the seven small cartoons are owned by the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
, Paris. In these tapestries, Bernard van Orley created a detailed historical authenticity on a grand scale, with life-size figures within imagined surroundings.
The tapestry ''Hercules carrying the Heavenly Spheres'' was commissioned by king
John II of Portugal
John II ( pt, João II; ; 3 March 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince ( pt, o Príncipe Perfeito, link=no), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for re-establishi ...
in 1530 and can be seen in the
Royal Palace of Madrid
The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies.
The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...
. The
armillary
An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of ...
was a symbol of the king of Portugal.
Stained glass
![Bernard van Orley - Johan IV van Nassau and His Wife Maria van Loon-Heinsberg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Bernard_van_Orley_-_Johan_IV_van_Nassau_and_His_Wife_Maria_van_Loon-Heinsberg.jpg)
At the end of his life he also started designing stained-glass windows. The windows in the north transept of the
St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral
nl, Kathedraal van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele
, native_name_lang =
, image = Saints-Michel-et-Gudule Luc Viatour.jpg
, imagesize = 200px
, imagelink =
, imagealt =
, landscape ...
in Brussels depict members of the House of
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
(
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
and his wife
Isabella of Portugal
Isabella of Portugal (24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was the empress consort and queen consort of her cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Burgundy. She was Queen of Spain and Germany, and La ...
),
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
and
Elisabeth of Hungary
Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...
, and scenes from the ''Legend of the Miraculous Host'', while the windows in the south transept depict
Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia
Louis II ( cs, Ludvík, hr, Ludovik , hu, Lajos, sk, Ľudovít; 1 July 1506 – 29 August 1526) was King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia from 1516 to 1526. He was killed during the Battle of Mohács fighting the Ottomans, whose victory led to ...
and his wife
Maria of Austria, sister of Charles V, kneeling in front of a vertical
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
with
St Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
and the Virgin with Child. These windows mark a change in style. The royal dynasty was still embedded within a religious framework, but the donor was now emphasized and not the venerated saint. It was also no longer deemed necessary to legitimize the position of the sovereign by a genealogical tree, as
Philip the Handsome
Philip the Handsome, es, Felipe, french: Philippe, nl, Filips (22 July 1478 – 25 September 1506), also called the Fair, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands and titular ruler, titular Duke of Burgundy from 1482 to 1506, as well as the fir ...
, the father of Charles V, was not represented. These windows can be ascribed with certainty to drawings by Bernard van Orley. They were executed by the master glass-worker Jean Haeck.
He also designed the stained-glass windows for the
St Rumbolds Cathedral, Malines depicting
Margaret of Austria, her third husband
Philibert II, Duke of Savoy
Philibert II (10 April 1480 – 10 September 1504), nicknamed the Handsome or the Good, was the Duke of Savoy from 1497 until his death.
Biography
Born in Pont-d'Ain, Philibert was the son of Philip (Filippo) the Landless and his first wife ...
, and Christ entering Jerusalem. These windows were destroyed during the religious conflicts between 1566 and 1585. In 2004 an unpublished colored drawing of these windows was discovered in
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
[(abstract online]
)
The
Sint-Bavokerk
The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square (Grote Markt (Haarlem), Grote Markt) in the Netherlands, Dutch city of Haarlem. Another Haarlem c ...
in
Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
, Holland, also has a set of stained-glass windows designed by van Orley, depicting the donor
Joris van Egmont, bishop of
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
and his patron saint
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
.
Other artists in the family van Orley
Bernard van Orley belonged to a large family of painters, starting with his father:
#Valentin van Orley (1466–1532): Philipp van Orley (ca. 1491-1566) (designer of tapestry
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
s); Bernard van Orley (1492?-1542?), painter and tapestry designer; Everard van Orley (born after 1491), painter; Gomar van Orley, painter (active around 1533).
#Bernard van Orley: Michael van Orley; Hieronymus van Orley I, painter (active around 1567-1602); Giles van Orley, painter (ca. 1535-1553)
#Giles van Orley (ca. 1535-1553): Hieronymus van Orley II (painter and decorator)
#Hieronymus van Orley II: Hieronymus van Orley III, portrait painter, decorator, etcher (documented in 1652); Pieter van Orley (1638-after 1708), miniaturist and landscape painter; François van Orley, history painter; Richard van Orley I
#Pieter van Orley (1638–1708):
Richard van Orley II (1663–1732), painter and etcher;
Jan van Orley
Jan van Orley or Jan van Orley II (4 January 1665, in Brussels – 22 February 1735, in Brussels) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, printmaker and designer of tapestries. Van Orley was one of the major figures of Flemish tapestry design in the ...
(1665–1735), painter and etcher.
Notes
References
*
Snyder, James. ''Northern Renaissance Art'', 1985, Harry N. Abrams,
*Arlette Smolar-Meynart ''et al.'' - ''Guide to the City Museum of Brussels; Stichting Monumenten- en Landschapszorg'', v.z.w., Brussels, 1992
*Eliane De Wilde ''et al.'' - ''Guide to the
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...
'', Brussels; Alice Editions,1996;
*Jane Turner (Editor). ''
Grove Dictionary of Art
''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...
'' - (Hardcover, New Edition).
*E. Benezit - ''Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs''; Librairie Gründ, Paris, 1976;
*Farmer, John David. "Bernard van Orley of Brussels." Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 1981
*Ainsworth, Maryan W., "Bernart van Orley as a Designer Tapestry". Ph. D. dissertation, Yale University, New Haven, Ct., 2 vols., 1982.
* (in German)
*Alphonse Guillaume Ghislain Wauters - Bernard van Orley; Adamant Media Corporation, 2001, (in French)
*Silver, Larry - ''Old-Time Religion: Bernart van Orley and the Devotional Tradition'' 1998, Pantheon 56: 75-84.
*Dessart Ch., ''Bernard van Orley 1488-1541'' (Société Royale d'Archéologie de Belgique), Brussel, 1943,9-10 (in French)
*Holm E., ''Pieter Breugel und Bernart van Orley. Die jagd als motiv in der niederländischen kunst um 1500. (Die jagd in der kunst)'', Berlin, 1964, 9
*David Starkey (Editor), ''Henry VIII: A European Court in England'', Collins & Brown Limited, 1991, Hardback / 1855850133 paperback, page 29 names van Orley in relation to stained glass design supervision
Further reading
* (see index)
External links
Collectionin the
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...
, Brussels
Paintings in other museums*Anna-Claire Stinebring, “
ttps://publications.philamuseum.org/entries/102177 ''The Adoration of the Magi'' by Bernard van Orley (cat. 400)” in
The John G. Johnson Collection: A History and Selected Works', a Philadelphia Museum of Art free digital publication
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orley, Bernard Van
15th-century births
1542 deaths
Painters from Antwerp
Flemish Renaissance painters
Flemish portrait painters
Flemish history painters
Artists from Brussels
Court painters
Flemish tapestry artists