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Melchior Broederlam, Infancy of Christ, altarpiece of the Chartreuse de Champnol (1394-1399)

Artists, Artisans & Patrons: Part I

Petrus Christus, St Eligius & St Godeberta (Portrait of Willem van Vlueten), 1449

- Northern Renaissance artist. Known as a very specific merchant/goldsmith from 1449.

- The image is doctored as the halo has been added much later on.

- Potential couple shopping for wedding ring.

- The image becomes somewhat ambiguous as the halo is now removed, the hat that lady has on is too large for her to have a halo and St. Eligius is the central figure of the piece. It is the actual portrait of a real goldsmith. On a side note for the sake of understanding the bigger picture… the King commissioned a saddle from St. Eligius; very ornate (gemstones and gold laden,) finds St. Eligius, as he is the best goldsmith in the town. The saddle and gold and gems are provided. Eligius is said to have taken the materials and made two saddles instead of one, he is quite ingenious and honest, he took what he was given and made something greater than the patron could even imagine. Rewarded with prestigious appointments.

- Potential analogy between patron & saint.

- Shop setting, large open windows and mirror facing onto the street.

Merchants: More interested in the business side of the deal.

Artisans: People who made things with their hands and skill, craftsmen who were highly trained and made physical objects. Meant to denote good & honest work. Hierarchies did exist between them and some are more respected than others.

Guilds: Made sure the trade was represented fairly and sold pieces after taxing.

What is better/more important: painting or sculpture?

Keep in mind where the pieces are intended to go… They would both be placed in churches; sometimes the sculptors also create the building. Debate is called the Paragone (just means competition.) Sculptors are viewed as dirtier as the medium they are working with is not as clean, etc. In the end, painters were viewed as superior mainly because of the mathematical qualities an artist was to believe to have possessed.

Melchior Broederlam, Presentation of Christ and the Flight into Jerusalem, 1399. Important part of the artisanal practice.

City structures are all about displaying ones own social status.

Sculptor’s workshop, guild niche of the arte dei maestri de pietra e legname, 1416.

Guilds made sure the trade was represented fairly and sold pieces after taxing.

Life in the workshop system:

Talent alone is not enough; start training around 7 or as late as 14 years. Initially just start out with doing little jobs around the studio of the great masters. Maybe progress to preparing the canvas/panel then maybe to painting parts of the image, eventually gets to paint central figures in the foreground. Most paintings from the time are collaborative pieces. Often hereditary, based on parents.

Verrocchio, The Baptism of Christ, 1472-1475

Also had very important aids to help with the piece, Leonardo da Vinci was believed to have aided in the piece (he began as an apprentice too.)