van der Weyden, Rogier (1399–1464)

A noted Flemish painter of religious subjects and portraits born as Roger de la Pasture in Tournai, northern France. The son of a knife maker, he apprenticed in the workshop of Robert Campin, and took his artistic influence from Campin and Jan van Eyck. As van der Weyden never signed his paintings, historians have argued for centuries between van der Weyden and Campin as the artists of many important works. In 1432 van der Weyden earned the title of painting master of Tournai. In 1435 he moved to Brussels, seat of the wealthy dukes of Burgundy, where he changed his name to Rogier van der Weyden and where he was appointed as the official city painter. This title brought him commissions to paint portraits of the dukes and members of the local aristocracy, and he was soon prospering. Van der Weyden completed a series of huge wooden panels for the town hall of Brussels, works that were famous throughout Europe before they were destroyed in a bombardment of the city in 1695. By 1440 he had completed Descent from the Cross, one of his most famous works, for the guild crossbowmen of Louvain. His best-known works include a Last Judgment altarpiece that measures 18 feet (5.5m) in width, as well as the Braque Triptych, Adoration of the Magi, St. Luke Painting the Virgin, the Deposition panel and Crucifixion triptych, as well as a Portrait of a Lady.

Van der Weyden may have made a pilgrimage to Italy in about 1450, a journey that left important marks on his painting style. Members of the d'Este and Medici dynasties commissioned his portraits, and the duchess of Milan sent one of her favorite artists back to Brussels to apprentice in van der Weyden's busy studio. By the time of his death he was renowned throughout Europe for the way he combined traditional Flemish precision with strong emotional intensity, a quality that made his work more accessible to painters of southern Europe and that made him a key influence on the painters of northern Europe for several generations.

See Also: van Eyck, Jan; Brueghel family