Rogier van der Weyden: Painterly Paparazzo
Dr. Laurinda Dixon
If Jan van Eyck was the Northern European “king of painters,” Rogier van der Weyden (1400?-1464) could be considered the “prince.” Together, they were the founders of the Northern Renaissance style of painting. Van der Weyden reflected the aristocratic and intellectual tastes of his wealthy patrons, refining and evolving Van Eyck’s innovations into a unique personal style that spread beyond the borders of Burgundy to Germany, Italy, and Spain. Rogier’s dramatic, yet restrained approach earned him kudos during his life. His portraits of the ruling elite explode the boundaries of the frame, and the emotive power of his religious scenes has never been matched.
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LECTURE 1 "Lesson Learned: Rogier's Debt to Earlier Masters"
Rogier van der Weyden’s story begins with Robert Campin, with whom he collaborated early on. In fact, the works of these artists are so close in style that art historians once considered them from the same hand. Rogier both adopted and adapted Van Eyck’s and Campin’s innovations into a uniquely ...
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LECTURE 2: "Painted Faces: Rogier's "Society" Portraits
Like Van Eyck before him, Rogier worked for the Dukes of Burgundy. He was the official painter of the city of Brussels, a position created especially for him. Rogier lived in close proximity to the “movers and shakers” of the Burgundian Court. They and other international celebrities are the s...
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LECTURE 3 "Teaching Moments: Rogier's painterly essays on Christian Faith"
Rogier depicted his wealthy patrons directly participating in sacred events, embodying the northern taste for naturalism and genre, even in religious scenes. A devout man, Rogier’s travel to Italy for the “jubilee” of 1450 is documented, and evident in borrowings from Italian artists.
