About the Artist

Rogier van der Veyden (1399/1400 Tournai-1464 Brussels), also called Rogelet de la Pasture, is considered one of the most important representatives of 15th-century Dutch painting. In 1427 he entered the workshop of Robert Campin, of which he eventually became the head. Shortly after he was granted the status of a free master he moved to Brussels, where he was appointed to the position of city painter in 1435/36. During his pilgrimage to Rome around 1450, he was appointed to the position of city painter in 1435/36. During his pilgrimage to Rome around 1450, he was active in Ferrara and in Florence as well. Influenced by the works of Campin and of Jan van Eyck, van der Veyden developed more slender and elegant figures, and perfected perspective views of interior rooms and landscpaes. The balance between space and surface became increasingly important to him in his later years. He also subordinated the precise representation of details to a concern for the composition as a whole. Among his works are The Bladelin Altarpiece, before 1450?, Gemaldegalerie, SMPK, Berlin; Virgin and Child with Saints (The Medici Madonna), c. 1450, Stadelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt; and Portrait of Charles the Bold, c. 1460, Gemaldegalerie, SMPK, Berlin.