Saint Luke’s Guild
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The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
for painters and other artists in
early modern Europe Early modern Europe, also referred to as the post-medieval period, is the period of European history between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the mid 15th century to the late 18th century. Histori ...
, especially in the
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
. They were named in honor of the Evangelist
Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...
, the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of artists, who was identified by
John of Damascus John of Damascus or John Damascene, born Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn, was an Arab Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and apologist. He was born and raised in Damascus or AD 676; the precise date and place of his death is not know ...
as having painted the Virgin's portrait. One of the most famous such organizations was founded in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
. It continued to function until 1795, although by then it had lost its
monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
and therefore most of its power. In most cities, including Antwerp, the local government had given the Guild the power to regulate defined types of trade within the city. Guild membership, as a master, was therefore required for an artist to take on apprentices or to sell paintings to the public. Similar rules existed in
Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
, where only members could sell paintings in the city or have a shop. The early guilds in Antwerp and
Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...
, setting a model that would be followed in other cities, even had their own showroom or market stall from which members could sell their paintings directly to the public.Prak (2003): 248. The guild of Saint Luke not only represented painters, sculptors, and other visual artists, but also—especially in the seventeenth century—dealers, amateurs, and even art lovers (the so-called ''liefhebbers'').Prak (2004): 249. In the medieval period most members in most places were probably
manuscript illuminators A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...
, where these were in the same guild as painters on wood and cloth—in many cities they were joined with the scribes or "scriveners". In traditional guild structures, house-painters and decorators were often in the same guild. However, as artists formed under their own specific guild of St. Luke, particularly in the Netherlands, distinctions were increasingly made.Smith (1999): 432. In general, guilds also made judgments on disputes between artists and other artists or their clients. In such ways, it controlled the economic career of an artist working in a specific city, while in different cities they were wholly independent and often competitive against each other.


Antwerp

Although it did not become a major artistic center until the sixteenth century, Antwerp was one of the first cities, if not the first, to found a guild of Saint Luke. It is first mentioned in 1382, and was given special privileges by the city in 1442.Baudouin (1973): 23–27. The registers, or ''
Liggeren The Liggeren refers to the archives of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke. This important archive is used as a source of biographical information on Flemish artists. For instance, it contained the names of all the harpsichord makers in Antwerp. It als ...
'', from the guild exist, cataloging when artists became masters, who the dean for each year was, what their specialities were, and the names of any students. In Bruges, however, which was the dominant city for artistic production in the Low Countries in the fifteenth century, the earliest known list of guild members dates to 1453, although the guild was certainly older than this. There all artists had to belong to the guild in order to practice in their own names or to sell their works, and the guild was very strict about which artistic activities could be practiced–distinctly forbidding an artisan to work in an area where another guild's members, such as tapestry weaving, were represented.Campbell (1976): 191.


Bruges

The Bruges guild, in a typically idiosyncratic medieval arrangement, also included the saddlemakers, probably because most members were painting
illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
s on
vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. It is often distinguished from parchment, either by being made from calfskin (rather than the skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellu ...
, and were therefore grouped as a sort of leatherworker. Perhaps because of this link, for a period they had a rule that all miniatures needed a tiny mark to identify the artist, which was registered with the Guild. Only under special privileges, such as court artist, could an artist effectively practice their craft without holding membership in the guild.
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...
had a similar situation in the seventeenth century, when he obtained special permission from the Archdukes
Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...
and
Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...
to be both court artist in
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and an active member of the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp. Membership also allowed members to sell works at the guild-owned showroom. Antwerp, for example, opened a market stall for selling paintings in front of the
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
in 1460, and Bruges followed in 1482.


Dutch Republic

Guilds of St. Luke in the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
began to reinvent themselves as cities there changed over to Protestant rule, and there were dramatic movements in population. Many St. Luke guilds reissued charters to protect the interests of local painters from the influx of southern talent from places like Antwerp and Bruges. Many cities in the young republic became more important artistic centres in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
was the first city to reissue a St. Luke's charter after the reformation in 1579, and it included painters, sculptors, engravers, and other trades dealing specifically in the visual arts.Prak (2003): 241. When trade between the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
and the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
resumed with the
Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Habsburg Spain, Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like Kingdom of France, France began tre ...
in 1609, immigration increased and many Dutch cities reissued guild charters as a form of protection against the great number of paintings that began to cross the border. For example, Gouda,
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, and
Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
, all founded guilds between 1609 and 1611. In each of those cases, panel painters removed themselves from their traditional guild structure that included other painters, such as those who worked in fresco and on houses, in favor of a specific "Guild of St. Luke". On the other hand, these distinctions did not take effect at that time in Amsterdam or Haarlem. In the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke, however, a strict hierarchy was attempted in 1631 with panel painters at the top, though this hierarchy was eventually rejected. In the
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
guild, also founded in 1611, the break was with the saddlemakers, but in 1644 a further split created a new painters' guild, leaving the guild of Saint Luke with only the sculptors and woodcarvers. A similar move in
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
in 1656 led to the painters leaving the Guild of Saint Luke to establish a new ''
Confrerie Pictura The Confrerie Pictura was a more or less academic club of artists founded in 1656 in The Hague (the Netherlands) by local art painters, who were unsatisfied by the Guild of Saint Luke there. History The guild of St. Luke in the Hague existed a ...
'' with all other kinds of visual artists, leaving the guild to the house-painters. Artists in other cities were not successful in setting up their own guilds of St. Luke, and remained part of the existing guild structure (or lack thereof). For example, an attempt was made in
Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
to set up a guild in 1610 specifically for painters to protect themselves against the sale of art from foreigners, especially those from areas of Brabant and the area around
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
. However, the town, which traditionally resisted guilds in general, only offered to help them from illegal imports.Montias (1977): 93. Not until 1648 was a loosely organized "quasi-guild" permitted in that city. The Guilds of the small but wealthy seat of government The Hague and its near neighbour, Delft, were constantly battling to stop the other's artists encroaching into their city, often without success. By the later part of the century a kind of balance was achieved, with The Hague's portraitists supplying both cities, whilst Delft's genre painters did the same.


Italy

In
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
the Guild of St. Luke, ''per se'', did not exist. Painters belonged to the guild of the Doctors and Apothecaries ("Arte dei Medici e Speziali") as they bought their pigments from the apothecaries, while sculptors were members of the Masters of Stone and Wood ("Maestri di Pietra e Legname).Hughes (1986): 3–5. They were also frequently members in the confraternity of St. Luke (''Compagnia di San Luca'')—which had been founded as early as 1349—although it was a separate entity from the guild system. There were similar confraternal organizations in other parts of Italy, such as Rome. By the 16th century a guild had even been established in
Candia The name Candia can refer to: People * The House of Candia, a noble family from Savoy (14th-16th) * Alfredo Ovando Candía, 56th president of Bolivia * Antoinette Candia-Bailey, American academic administrator * Cecilia Maria de Candia, British-It ...
in
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
, then a Venetian possession, by the very successful Greek artists of the
Cretan School Cretan school describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the fall of Constantinople, beco ...
. In the sixteenth century, the ''Compagnia di San Luca'' began to meet at SS. Annunziata, and sculptors, who had previously been members of a confraternity dedicated to St. Paul (''Compagnia di San Paolo''), also joined. This form of the ''compagnia'' developed into the Florentine
Accademia del Disegno The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno ("Academy of the Arts of Drawing") is an academy of artists in Florence, in Italy. It was founded on 13 January 1563 by Cosimo I de' Medici, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. It was initially known as ...
in 1563, which was then formally incorporated into the city's guild system in 1572. The Florence example, in fact, eventually acted more like a traditional guild structure than the
Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca () is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first ''principe'' or director; ...
in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. Founded by
Federico Zuccari Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari and Federigo Zucchero ( July/August 1609), was an Italian painter, draughtsman, architect and writer. He worked in various cities in Italy, as well as in other countries such as Spain, France, t ...
in 1593, Rome's Accademia reflects more clearly the "modern" notions of an artistic academy rather than perpetuating what has often been seen as the medieval nature of the guild system. Gradually other cities were to follow the example of Rome and the
Carracci The Carracci ( , , {{IPA, it, karˈrattʃi, lang) were a family of Italian artists. Notable members include: * the three members who worked together and are known collectively as the Carracci, i.e.: ** Agostino Carracci (1557–1602), Italian pa ...
in
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
, with leading painters founding an "Academy", not always initially in direct competition with the local Guilds, but tending to eclipse and supplant it in time. This shift in artistic representation is generally associated with the modern conception of the visual arts as a liberal rather than mechanical art, and occurred in cities across Europe. In Antwerp
David Teniers the Younger David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II (bapt. 15 December 1610 – 25 April 1690) was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile artist ...
was both a dean of the Guild and founded the
Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
, while in Venice Pittoni and
Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; 5 March 1696 – 27 March 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an importa ...
led a breakaway Accademia from the old ''Fraglia dei Pittori'' as the local guild was known. The new academies began to offer training in drawing and the early stages of painting to students, and artistic theory, including the
hierarchy of genres A hierarchy of genres is any formalization which ranks different genres in an art form in terms of their prestige and cultural value. In literature, the Epic poetry, epic was considered the highest form, for the reason expressed by ...
, increased in importance.


Guilds and intellectual pursuits

The late sixteenth-century elevation of artist's status that occurred in Italy was echoed in the Low Countries by increased participation by artists in literary and humanistic societies. The Antwerp Guild of St. Luke, in particular, was closely associated with one of the city's eminent chambers of rhetoric, the '' Violieren'', and, in fact, the two were often discussed as being the same.Gibson (1981): 431 (also n. 37). By the mid-sixteenth century, when
Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel (also Brueghel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; – 9 September 1569) was among the most significant artists of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaking, printmaker, known for his landscape art, landscape ...
was active in the city, most of the members of the ''Violieren'', including
Frans Floris Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt (17 April 15191 October 1570) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits. ...
, Cornelis Floris, and Hieronymus Cock, were artists. The relationship between the two organizations, one for professionals practicing a trade and the other a literary and dramatist group, continued into the seventeenth century until the two groups formally merged in 1663 when the Antwerp Academy was founded a century after its Roman counterpart. Similar relationships between the Guild of St. Luke and chambers of rhetoric appear to have existed in Dutch cities in the seventeenth century. Haarlem's "Liefde boven al" ("Love above all") is a prime example, to which
Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, ; ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem, a city in which the local authority of the day frowned on religious painting in places of worship but citizens liked to decorate thei ...
,
Esaias van de Velde Esaias van de Velde (17 May 1587 (baptized) – 18 November 1630 (buried)) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, mainly of landscapes and a printmaker who experimented with etching. Biography He was born in Amsterdam, where his Flemish father H ...
, and
Adriaen Brouwer Adriaen Brouwer ( – January 1638) was a Flemish painter active in Flanders and the Dutch Republic in the first half of the 17th century.Romanists, for whom travel to Italy and appreciation of classical and humanist culture were essential.


Guild rules

Guild rules varied greatly. In common with the Guilds for other trades, there would be an initial
apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...
ship of at least three, more often five years. Typically, the apprentice would then qualify as a "
journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...
", free to work for any Guild member. Some artists began to sign and date paintings a year or two before they reached the next stage, which often involved a payment to the Guild, and was to become a " free Master". After this the artist could sell his own works, set up his own workshop with apprentices of his own, and also sell the work of other artists.
Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...
achieved this at eighteen, but in the twenties would be more typical. In some places the maximum number of apprentices was specified (as for example two), especially in the earlier periods, and alternatively a minimum of one might be specified. In
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
painting, unlike say goldsmithing, was a "free trade" without a Guild and regulated directly by the city council; this was intended to encourage growth in a city where much art was becoming linked with book
publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
, for which Nuremberg was the largest German centre. Nonetheless, there were rules and for example only married men could operate a workshop. In most cities the women who were important members of workshops making
illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
s were excluded from the Guild or from being masters; however not in Antwerp, where
Caterina van Hemessen Caterina or Catharina van Hemessen (1528 – after 1565) was a Flemish Renaissance painter. She is the earliest female Flemish painter for whom there is verifiable extant work. She is mainly known for a series of small-scale female portra ...
and others were members. As the Christian title of the Guild suggested, Jews were excluded, at least from becoming masters, in most cities. When
printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...
arrived, many engravers were from a
goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...
ing background and stayed in that guild. As that link weakened with the development of printmaking, some painters' guilds accepted engravers or
etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
s who did not paint as Members, and others did not. In London painters on glass had their own separate guild with the glaziers; elsewhere they would be accepted by the painters. The rules of the Delft guild have been much puzzled over by art historians seeking to illuminate the undocumented training of
Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...
. When he joined the Guild there in 1653, he must have received six years training, according to the local rules. In addition, he had to pay a six guilders admission fee, despite the fact that his father was a Guild member (as an art dealer), which would normally have meant only a three guilder fee. This appears to mean that his training had not been received in Delft itself.
Pieter de Hooch Pieter Hendricksz. de Hooch (; also spelled ''Hoogh'' or ''Hooghe''; 20 December 1629  – after 1683), was a Dutch Golden Age painter famous for his genre works of quiet domestic scenes with an open doorway. He was a contemporary, in the ...
on the other hand, as an immigrant to Delft, had to pay twelve guilders in 1655, which he could not afford to pay all at once. Another aspect of the Guild rules is illustrated by the dispute between
Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, ; ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem, a city in which the local authority of the day frowned on religious painting in places of worship but citizens liked to decorate thei ...
and
Judith Leyster Judith Jans Leyster (also Leijster; baptised July 28, 1609Molenaer, JudithNational Gallery of Art website. Accessed February 1, 2014. – February 10, 1660) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre works, portraits, and still lifes. Her work wa ...
in Haarlem. Leyster was the second woman in Haarlem to join the Guild, and probably trained with Hals – she was a witness at the
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
of his daughter. Some years later, in 1635, she brought a dispute to the Guild complaining that one of her three apprentices had left her workshop after only a few days, and had been accepted into Hals' shop, in breach of Guild rules. The Guild had the power to fine members, and after discovering that the apprentice had not been registered with them, fined both artists, and made a ruling on the apprentice's position.


Decline of the guilds

All guild local monopolies came under general economic disapproval from the 17th century onwards; in the particular case of painters there was in many places a tension between the Guilds and artists imported as court painter by a ruler. When
Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...
was finally enticed to come to England by King Charles I, he was provided with a house at Blackfriars, then just outside the boundary of the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
to avoid the monopoly of the London guild.
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
with its Catholic court, split itself in two in 1656 with the
Confrerie Pictura The Confrerie Pictura was a more or less academic club of artists founded in 1656 in The Hague (the Netherlands) by local art painters, who were unsatisfied by the Guild of Saint Luke there. History The guild of St. Luke in the Hague existed a ...
. By that time it was clear to all involved that the one-stop-shop concept of a guild was past its prime, and to ensure high quality and high prices, the education of artists needed to be separated from sales venues. Many towns set up ''academy'' style schools for education, while sales could be generated from arranged viewings at local inns, estate sales, or open markets. In Antwerp the Habsburg Governors eventually removed the Guild's monopoly, and by the end of the 18th century hardly any guild monopolies survived, even before
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
disbanded all guilds in territories he controlled. Guilds survived as societies or charitable organisations, or merged with the newer "
Academies An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
" – as happened in Antwerp, but not in London or Paris. Guild monopoly had a brief 20th century revival in Eastern Europe under
Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
, where non-members of the official artist's union or guild found it very hard to work as painters – for example the Czech
Josef Váchal Josef Váchal (23 September 1884 in Milavče near Domažlice – 10 May 1969 in Radim (Jičín District), Studeňany) was a Czechs, Czech writer, painter, printmaker and book-printer. Váchal was the son of Josef Aleš-Lyžec and Anna Váchalová ...
.


Paintings for the guilds

In many cities the Guild of Saint Luke financed a chapel that was decorated with an altarpiece of their patron saint.Olds (1990): 89–96. Rogier van der Weyden's '' Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin'', c. 1435-1440 (
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...
), one of the earliest-known paintings, set up a tradition that was followed by many subsequent artists. Jan Gossaert's work in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (illustrated, top right) revisits Van der Weyden's composition while presenting the scene as a visionary experience instead of a directly witnessed portrait sitting. Later,
Frans Floris Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt (17 April 15191 October 1570) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits. ...
(1556),
Marten de Vos Maerten de Vos, Maerten de Vos the Elder or Marten de Vos (1532 – 4 December 1603)Maerten de Vos
at the
(1602) and
Otto van Veen Otto van Veen (also known by his Latinized names Otto Venius or Octavius Vaenius; 1556 – 6 May 1629), was a Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, and Humanism, humanist active primarily in Antwerp and City of Brussels, Brussels in the late ...
all represented the subject for the guild in Antwerp, and
Abraham Janssens Abraham Janssens I, Abraham Janssen I or Abraham Janssens van Nuyssen (1575–1632) was a Flemish Painting, painter, who is known principally for his large religious and mythological works, which show the influence of Caravaggio. He was the lead ...
painted an altarpiece for the guild in
Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...
in 1605.King (1985): 254–255. These paintings are frequently self-portraits with the artist as Luke, and often provide insight into artistic practices from the time when they were made since the subject is of an artist at work. File:The Lukasmadonna, by Derick Baegert.jpg,
Derick Baegert Derik or Derick Baegert (c. 1440 – after 1515) was a German late Gothic painter. Derick Baegert was probably born in Wesel around 1435-1440 to Johan Baegert, a merchant, and Mechtelt Mynreman. While his family wasn't very wealthy, Derick ended ...
, ''Saint Luke Painting the Virgin'', c. 1470 Image:De heilige Lucas schildert de Madonna - Maarten van Heemskerck-1532.JPG, Maarten van Heemskerk painted this altarpiece before he left Haarlem for Italy in 1532. Image:Giorgio vasari, san luca ritrae la vergine, oratorio di san luca, annunziata.jpg, Same theme by
Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...
.


See also

*
Saint Luke painting the Virgin In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...
*
Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
* Guildhall Museum (disambiguation), Guildhall Museum * Guild of Romanists Club in 17th century Antwerp * Hanseatic League * Marketplace * Merchant * Painter's Guild in New Spain * Retail * Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp Founded in 1663 * Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass London * Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers London


Notes


References

* Giulia Bartrum, Bartrum, Giulia. ''Albrecht Dürer and His Legacy''. British Museum Press (2002). . * Baudouin, Frans. "Metropolis of the Arts." In: ''Antwerp's Golden Age: the metropolis of the West in the 16th and 17th centuries'', Antwerp, 1973, pp. 23–33. * Belkin, Kristin Lohse. ''Rubens''. Phaidon Press, 1998. . * Campbell, Lorne. "The Art Market in the Southern Netherlands in the Fifteenth Century." In: ''The Burlington Magazine'', vol. 118, no. 877. (Apr., 1976), pp. 188–198. * Farquhar, J.D. "Identity in an Anonymous Age: Bruges Manuscript Illuminators and their Signs." ''Viator'', vol 11 (1980), pp. 371–83. * Ford-Wille, Clare. "Antwerp, guild of S. Luke." ''The Oxford Companion to Western Art''. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford University Press, 2001. ''Grove Art Online''. Oxford University Press, 2005. [accessed May 18, 2007] * Franits, Wayne, ''Dutch Seventeenth-Century Genre Painting'', Yale UP, 2004, . * Gibson,Walter S. "Artists and Rederijkers in the Age of Bruegel." In: ''The Art Bulletin'', vol. 63, no. 3. (Sep., 1981), pp. 426–446. * Heppner, Albert. "The Popular Theatre of the Rederijkers in the Work of Jan Steen and His Contemporaries." In: ''Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes'', vol. 3, no. 1/2. (Oct., 1939 - Jan., 1940), pp. 22–48. * Howe, Eunice D. "Luke, St" ''Grove Art Online''. Oxford University Press, [accessed May 18, 2007] * Hughes, Anthony."'An Academy for Doing'. I: The Accademia del Disegno, the Guilds and the Principate in Sixteenth-Century Florence." ''Oxford Art Journal'', vol. 9, no. 1. (1986), pp. 3–10. * Jack, Mary Ann. "The Accademia del Disegno in Late Renaissance Florence." In: ''Sixteenth Century Journal'', vol. 7, no. 2. (Oct., 1976), pp. 3–20. * King, Catherine. "National Gallery 3902 and the Theme of Luke the Evangelist as Artist and Physician." In: ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', vol. 48., no. 2. (1985), pp. 249–255. * Mather, Rufus Graves. "Documents Mostly New Relating to Florentine Painters and Sculptors of the Fifteenth Century." In: ''The Art Bulletin'', vol. 30, no. 1. (Mar., 1948), pp. 20–65. * Montias, John Michael. "The Guild of St. Luke in 17th-Century Delft and the Economic Status of Artists and Artisans." In: ''Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art'', vol. 9, no. 2. (1977), pp. 93–105. * Olds, Clifton. "Jan Gossaert's 'St. Luke Painting the Virgin': A Renaissance Artist's Cultural Literacy." In: ''Journal of Aesthetic Education'', vol. 24, no. 1, Special Issue: Cultural Literacy and Arts Education. (Spring, 1990), pp. 89–96. * Prak, Maarten. "Guilds and the Development of the Art Market during the Dutch Golden Age." In: ''Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art'', vol. 30, no. 3/4. (2003), pp. 236–251. * Slive, Seymour, Dutch Painting, 1600–1800, Yale UP, 1995, * Smith, Pamela H. "Science and Taste: Painting, Passions, and the New Philosophy in Seventeenth-Century Leiden." In: ''Isis'', vol. 90, no. 3. (Sep., 1999), pp. 421–461.


Further reading

* Stabel, Peter, "Organisation corporative et production d'oeuvres d'art à Bruges à la fin du moyen âge et au début des temps modernes", in: Le Moyen Âge. Revue d'histoire et de philologie, 113, 1, 2007, pp. 91–134.


External links


Feature on the Delft Guild in the 17th century

Article on Dutch Guilds, from Codart
{{Authority control History of art Arts and media trade groups History of Antwerp Guilds in Belgium Guilds in the Netherlands