Aert van den Bossche
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Aert van den Bossche or the Master of the Crispinus and Crispinianus-Legend (also known as Aert Panhedel, Aert van Panhedel, Arnoul de Panhedel, Arnoul Vanden Bossche and Harnoult van den Boske)Aert van den Bossche
at the
Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...
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. ...
of
altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...
s, active 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
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
in the late 15th century. There is still doubt as to whether he should be identified with the Master of the legend of St. Barbara or was only one of the artists active in a workshop responsible for the works of that master.


Life

Little is known about the life of Aert van den Bossche. It is believed that he was born ca. 1455 or earlier. He was possibly originally from Bruges although he or his ancestors may have come from the town of
's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
. This can possibly be concluded from the fact that in Brussels where he was active from the 1490s he was recorded in 1499 as 'Aert van Panhedel alias van den Bossche, schilder' (painter). The town of
's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
is colloquially referred to as Den Bosch (hence ''van den Bossche'' would mean "from 's-Hertogenbosch') and his name could therefore indicate he was originally from there. This assumption is further confirmed by the fact that when he registered in the Bruges
Guild of Saint Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was ide ...
he signed with the name 'Harnoult van den Boske'. It is also known that Aert's father, the painter Yanne van den Bossche, had received some orders from the Brussels guild as well. Aert van den Bossche had a son Gielis, a.k.a. Gielis Panhedel, who signed ''Gilken van den Booeske'' and was an accomplished painter. Aert van den Bossche became a city councillor of Brussels.Aert van den Bossche and the Master of the Legend of Saint Barbe
at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
There is speculation that he may have been a pupil or assistant of
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 ...
.


Work

There is uncertainty about which works can be attributed to Aert van den Bossche. The famous ''Virgin and Child in a Landscape'', on view at the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...
is currently attributed to: 'artist(s) unknown, possibly Master of the Madonna Grog or Aert van den Bossche, formerly Master of the Embroidered Foliage'. The ''
St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
sacrificing to an idol of the
Manichaeans Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (AD ...
'' is now attributed to the Master of the legend of St. Barbara. The name 'Master of the legend of St. Barbara' was created by the German art historian
Max Jakob Friedländer Max Jakob Friedländer (5 July 1867 in Berlin – 11 October 1958 in Amsterdam) was a German museum curator and art historian. He was a specialist in Early Netherlandish painting and the Northern Renaissance, who volunteered at the Kupferstichkab ...
to denote an anonymous painter or a group of painters who worked out of
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
and
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 ...
. The only written proof that a specific artwork had been commissioned from him personally is a receipt of 1490 for the
remuneration Remuneration is the pay or other financial compensation provided in exchange for an employee's ''services performed'' (not to be confused with giving (away), or donating, or the act of providing to). A number of complementary benefits in additio ...
paid by the Brussels shoemakers' guild for the triptych of the ''Martyrdom of the Saints
Crispin and Crispinian Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the Christian patron saints of cobblers, curriers, tanners, and leather workers. They were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 October 285 or 286. History Bor ...
''. The triptych was intended for the guild's altar in the St Nicholas Church. The discovery of this receipt led to the identification of an extant painting depicting the saints in question, and to the identification of its artist earlier referred to as the 'Master of the Legend of St. Barbara' with Aert van den Bossche. Since this discovery the triptych has been removed from the oeuvre of the Master of the Legend of St. Barbara. There is yet no unanimous view as to Aert van den Bossche's exact relationship with the Master of the Legend of St. Barbara and whether Aert van den Bossche formed part of the workshop of the Master of the Legend of St. Barbara. On stylistic grounds it is believed that Aert van den Bossche painted the right wing of the ''Triptych with the Miracles of Christ''. Some specialists have claimed that he also collaborated with the Master of the Legend of St. Barbara: for example, in the panel of the Scenes of the Legend of Henry II, the figures in the section on the left could possibly be the work of van den Bossche.


The Martyrdom of Saints Crispin and Crispinian

The subject of the painting is the martyrdom of the Saints Crispin and Crispinian. According to the Christian legend the two saints were twin brothers born to a noble Roman family in the 3rd century AD. They were allegedly persecuted, tortured and put to death for their faith by
Rictus Varus Rictius Varus (Rictiovarus, Rixius Varus, Rexius Vicarius) was a Vicarius in Roman Empire, Roman Gaul at the end of the 3rd century, around the time of the Diocletianic Persecution. The ''Roman Martyrology'' contains many references to the prefect ...
in
Belgic Gaul Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and Germany. In 50 BC, af ...
. They became the
patron saints A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person. I ...
of cobblers,
tanners Tanners may refer to: * Tanners (company), a British wine company * Tanners, Virginia, an unincorporated community located in Madison County, United States * Jerald and Sandra Tanner, opponents of the LDS Church (Mormons) * Leatherhead F.C., a fo ...
, and
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
workers, and the church honoured them with a
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
celebrated on 25 October. The ''martyrdom''
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 ...
has not survived in its original form, as the central part of the triptych has been separated from the wings. In the early 19th century, the central part (or the largest middle panel) was purchased in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
from a private owner by Count Stanisław Potocki,
Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (Ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...
(''Konyushy'') at the court of the Russian Tsar during the foreign
Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
. It was put on display at his
Wilanów Palace Wilanów Palace ( pl, Pałac w Wilanowie, ) is a former royal palace located in the Wilanów district of Warsaw, Poland. Wilanów Palace survived Poland's partitions and both World Wars, and so serves as a reminder of the culture of the Polish ...
, which Potocki had turned into an art centre. Unlike other Polish nobles at the time, Potocki did not take part in the
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
against Russia. For over a hundred years after its last verified purchase, nobody knew what subject matter was depicted in the composition. Speculation included the ''
Ten thousand martyrs Ten thousand martyrs may refer to the ten thousand martyred Fathers of the deserts and caves of Scete by Theophilus of Alexandria or to the ten thousand martyrs of Mount Ararat who were, according to a medieval legend, Roman soldiers who, led by S ...
'' and other themes known already from Dürer. The subject matter was finally discovered by
Jan Białostocki Jan Białostocki (Polish: ; August 14, 1921, in Saratov, Russia – December 25, 1988, in Warsaw) was a Polish historian. He is considered to be one of the most renowned Polish art historians of the 20th century. Life and work During the German ...
( pl) from the
Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...
, professor of
Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...
and one-time curator at the National Muzeum in Warsaw. He identified some 13 plants in the painting, most of them used in leather
tanning Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
. The shoemakers' guild was a "connective tissue" in his subject-matter analysis. The written record confirms that the masterpiece was donated by the guild as an altarpiece for the St. Nicholas Church, located next to the Bourse, in Brussels to secure their own prosperity. The subject matter relates to the shoemaker trade. The painting depicts the legendary martyrdom of Saints Crispin and Crispinian. They had their bones broken (left), toenails extracted (upper left), skin ripped off of their backs in long narrow strips (center); they were thrown off the cliff into the Aisne river (upper right) and when they refused to drown they were boiled alive in a cauldron (upper corner) before being beheaded. The central panel of the painting is on display at the
Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanów A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. Efforts to locate the missing panels continue even if only for the sake of historical record. Nothing is known about the left-hand side of the triptych including subject matter. Part of the outside panel of the right-hand wing (cut in half) is in the Moscow
Pushkin Museum The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (russian: Музей изобразительных искусств имени А. С. Пушкина, abbreviated as ) is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just oppo ...
, while the inside of the same right wing panel is in the
Museum of the City of Brussels The Brussels City Museum (french: Musée de la ville de Bruxelles, nl, Museum van de Stad Brussel) is a municipal museum on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt of Brussels, Belgium. Conceived in 1860 and inaugurated in 1887, it is dedicated to the hi ...
.


Triptych with the Miracles of Christ

The ''Triptych with the Miracles of Christ'' is held in the collection of the
National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
in Melbourne. It is a fairly small scale work measuring about 112 by 184 cm.Lynn F. Jacobs, ''Opening Doors: The Early Netherlandish Triptych Reinterpreted'', Penn State Press, 2012, p. 148-150 Although there is still no unanimity on the attribution of each panel of the work, it is generally believed that the triptych represents a collaboration between three artists working in Brussels at the same time: the Master of the Legend of Saint Catherine (central panel), the Master of the Princely Portraits (left wing) and Aert van den Bossche. There is evidence to suggest that the works were not produced in a single workshop where they could have been placed side by side during their execution. Rather, the fact that the line of the horizon varies in each panel and that the scale of the figures nor the perspective match up are indications that the three parts of the triptych were produced in separate locations where each artist worked in isolation from the others. It has been assumed that a possible reason for this work method had to do with the urgency of the commission or that it was in response to specific instructions of the commissioner of the work.''The Triptych with the Miracles of Chris''
at 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 ...
The person who commissioned the work was
Adolph of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein Adolph of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein (1425–1492) was the youngest son of Adolph I, Duke of Cleves, and of his wife Marie of Burgundy, a sister of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Marriage and issue Philip the Good of Burgundy and his wif ...
, a powerful individual connected to the rulers of Burgundy. He is depicted in the front and middle of the left panel entitled ''The Marriage at Cana''. The triptych depicts on the left wing Christ's first miracle at the wedding of Cana and ends with the last miracle of Christ, the
raising of Lazarus Lazarus of Bethany (Latinised from Lazar, ultimately from Hebrew Eleazar, "God helped"), also venerated as Righteous Lazarus, the Four-Days Dead in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the subject of a prominent sign of Jesus in the Gospel of John, ...
, which is depicted on the right wing attributed to van den Bossche. The central panel depicts the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves.


References


Further reading

* * * * ''The Flemish primitives.'
Biography of Dieric Bouts (circa 1470-1475).
Collaboration with Aert van den Bossche. Flemish Art Collection.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bossche, Aert Van Den Early Netherlandish painters Flemish history painters