''The Moulins Triptych'', c. 1498, oil on panel, Moulins Cathedral

Jean Hey (or Jean Hay) (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

c. 1475 – c. 1505),Brigstocke 2001, p. 338 now generally identified with the artist formerly known as the Master of Moulins, was an

Early Netherlandish painter 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. ...

working in France and the

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; la, Ducatus Burgundiae; french: Duché de Bourgogne, ) emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the ...

, and associated with the court of the

Dukes of Bourbon Duke of Bourbon (french: Duc de Bourbon) is a title in the peerage of France. It was created in the first half of the 14th century for the eldest son of Robert of France, Count of Clermont and Beatrice of Burgundy, heiress of the lordship of B ...

Life and works

Master of Moulins - Madonna Enthroned with Saints (detail) - WGA14457

Little is known about Hey, whose style has led to speculation that he may have studied under

Hugo van der Goes Hugo van der Goes (c. 1430/1440 – 1482) was one of the most significant and original Flemish painters of the late 15th century. Van der Goes was an important painter of altarpieces as well as portraits. He introduced important innovations in pa ...

. It is possible that he spent his last years in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Hey's most well-known work, the

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

Moulins Cathedral Moulins Cathedral (french: Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Annonciation de Moulins, lit=English: Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Moulins) is a Roman Catholic church building, church located in the town of Moulins, Allier ...

, dates from the end of 15th century. The central panel shows the

Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...

adored by angels, and is flanked by portraits of the duke Pierre II and the duchess

Anne de Beaujeu Anne of France (or Anne de Beaujeu; 3 April 146114 November 1522) was a French princess and regent, the eldest daughter of Louis XI by Charlotte of Savoy. Anne was the sister of Charles VIII of France, Charles VIII, for whom she acted as regent d ...

with their daughter Suzanne. The triptych's state of preservation is generally excellent, although at some time before the 1830s the top and bottom of the wings were trimmed (the left wing more at the bottom and the right wing more at the top).

Identifying the Master of Moulins

Until the 1902 ''

Exposition des primitifs flamands à Bruges The Exposition des primitifs flamands à Bruges (''Exhibition of Flemish Primitives at Bruges'') was an art exhibition of paintings by the so-called Flemish Primitives (nowadays usually called Early Netherlandish painters) held in the Provinc ...

'', the name of the painter of the Moulins Triptych was unknown, although art historians identified a number of other works that were evidently by the same hand.

Georges Hulin de Loo Georges Hulin de Loo (10 December 1862, in Ghent – 27 December 1945, in Brussels) was a Belgian art historian specialising in Early Netherlandish art. He was educated in his home city of Ghent where he attended high school and university, earnin ...

first made the connection between this artist and a ''Jehan Pérreal de Paris'' when he compared the drapery and sleeves of the Mary Magdalene lent from the Léon de Somzee collection, to the Moulins triptych. File:Meister von Moulins 002.jpg, ''Mary Magdalene'' from the Somzee collection in the 1902 exhibition File:Hay7.JPG, ''Portrait of Francis de Chateaubriand'', also on loan from Glasgow to the 1902 exhibition File:Georges Hulin de Loo - Titlepage Maitres Anonymes 1902.jpg, Extract of Hulin de Loo's critical catalog with his anonymous master identifications The first monograph on the Master of Moulins, written in 1961 by Madeleine Huillet d'Istria, argued that this artist did not actually exist, and that more than 12 different artists were responsible for the corpus of works traditionally ascribed to him.Châtelet, p. 517 The Master's identity was established after an inscription was found on the reverse of a damaged painting, ''Christ with Crown of Thorns'' (1494) 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 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 ...

, identifying the artist as Jean Hey, ''teutonicus'' and ''pictor egregius'' ("the famous painter"), and identifying the patron as Jean Cueillette, who was secretary to the King and an associate of the Bourbon family.Reynolds 1996, p. 733 Stylistic similarities link this painting to the works attributed to the Master of Moulins. The Master of Moulins appears to have been the court painter for the Bourbons,Reynolds 1996, p. 734 and from a surviving account for 1502–03, it is clear that the court painter's name was Jean; other candidates once considered plausible, such as

Jean Perréal Jean Perréal (-) -- sometimes called Peréal, Johannes Parisienus or Jean De Paris -- was a successful portraitist for French Royalty in the first half of the 16th century, as well as an architect, sculptor and limner of illuminated manuscripts ...

and

Jean Prévost Jean Prévost (13 June 1901 – 1 August 1944) was a French writer, journalist, and Maquis (World War II), Resistance fighter. Biography Born in Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours, Prévost was educated (from 1907 to 1911) at the primary school in ...

(an artist from

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

who worked in stained glass), have proven untenable in the light of subsequent research. The term "Teutonicus", or "German" included

Flemings The Flemish or Flemings ( nl, Vlamingen ) are a Germanic ethnic group native to Flanders, Belgium, who speak Dutch. Flemish people make up the majority of Belgians, at about 60%. "''Flemish''" was historically a geographical term, as all inha ...

at this date. File:The Annunciation, 1490-1495, by Jean Hey (Master of Moulins) - Art Institute of Chicago - DSC09637.JPG, ''The Annunciation'', 1490–1495,

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

File:Meister von Moulins 004.jpg, Portrait of

Charles II of Bourbon Charles II, Duke of Bourbon (Château de Moulins, 1433–September 13, 1488, Lyon), was Archbishop of Lyon from an early age and a French diplomat under the rule of Louis XI of France. He had a 2-week tenure as Duke of Bourbon in 1488, be ...

File:Master of Moulins - The Dauphin Charles-Orlant - WGA14467.jpg, ''Le dauphin

Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France (french: Charles Orland, Dauphin de France) (11 October 1492 – 16 December 1495) was the eldest son and heir of Charles VIII of France and Anne of Brittany. Build-up The marriage of Charles and Anne had been ...

'', 1494 File:Meister von Moulins 003.jpg, ''The Virgin and the Child'' File:Master of Moulins - Pierre II, Duc de Bourbon, Presented by St Peter - WGA14464.jpg, Pierre II, Duc de Bourbon, Presented by St Peter File:Hey Anne of France presented by Saint John the Evangelist.jpg, Anne of France presented by Saint John the Evangelist

Notes

References

*Brigstocke, H. (2001). ''The Oxford companion to Western art''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Châtelet, Albert (1962). "A Plea for the Master of Moulins". ''The Burlington Magazine'' 104 (717): 517–524. *Gowing, Lawrence (1987). ''Paintings in the Louvre''. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang. *Reynolds, Catherine (1996). "Master of Moulins", ''The Dictionary of Art'' xx. 731–734. *Zerner, Henri (2003). ''Renaissance Art in France: the invention of classicism''. Paris: Flammarion.

External links

Jean Hey at ArtcyclopediaFifteenth- to eighteenth-century European paintings: France, Central Europe, the Netherlands, Spain, and Great Britain
a collection catalog fully available online as a PDF, which contains material on Jean Hey (no. 3) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hey, Jean Early Netherlandish painters Moulins, Allier