Barthélemy d'Eyck

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Miniature from the allegorical chivalric novel Livre du Cœur d'amour épris . Vienna, Austrian National Library.
Annunciation altar, left wing, inside below: Isaiah, middle panel: Annunciation to Mary, right wing, inside: Jeremias (reconstruction of the preserved parts)

Barthélemy d'Eyck (verifiable 1444 ; † around 1476 ) was a Flemish painter and is particularly considered an illuminator (book painter) as one of the most important and innovative artists of the 15th century.

Little is known about his life and can only be reasoned assumptions: Barthélemy d'Eyck was a native of the Netherlands and probably learned from Jan van Eyck in Bruges in the late 1430s, but an apprenticeship with Robert Campin is also possible . In 1444 he can be traced back to Aix-en-Provence , from 1447 accounts show his service for René d'Anjou , with whom he must have had a familiar relationship, as he is not only treated as a courtier, but also his studio in the private apartments of the King in Angers Castle . He may have been in Italy with the king in 1440.

His artistic work is characterized, especially in book illumination, by a wealth of naturalistic details, materiality and innovative light and room treatments.

Life

Origin and education

Exterior view of Aldeneik Abbey in Maaseik with the choir in the foreground

Little is known about the painter's life. There are several documents that prove that he came from the Dutch-speaking part of the Principality of Liège . His mother was a certain Ydria Exters, who came from the Maaseik area and was a second marriage to Pierre du Billant, a famous embroiderer and valet of René I d'Anjou . Pierre du Billant was also of Dutch descent. A document from Aix-en-Provence dated June 28, 1460 confirms this marriage. The same document mentions Barthélemy's brother, calls him Clément d'Eyck, and describes him as a nobleman from the Diocese of Liège . On the other hand, a tombstone was found in the cemetery of Aldeneik Abbey in today's Limburg city ​​of Maaseik, which shows the coat of arms of Van Eyck, the first man of Ydria, combined with the coat of arms of Van Biljandt or du Billant. This evidence suggests that Barthélemy d'Eyck was related to Jan and Hubert van Eyck , who also came from this region.

According to the research of Charles Sterling Barthelemy received 1430 to 1435 his training as a painter in the Burgundian Netherlands at the brothers van Eyck and probably with the Master of Flémalle identical Robert Campin . The German art historian Eberhard König assumes that Barthélemy was directly involved in works from the workshop of Jan van Eyck and thus contributed about three pages to the work Très Belles Heures de Notre-Dame . René d'Anjou, his future patron, must have visited the van Eyck's studio in 1433. However, this view of things is not undisputed among art historians. There are opinions that Barthélemy d'Eyck received his training from Robert Campin, this is justified with the painting style of the artist.

Sterling sees the possibility of acquaintance with the German painter Konrad Witz , whose works are clearly similar to those attributed to Barthélemy d'Eyck. The two could have met in 1434 at the Council of Basel . According to this, Barthélemy probably met René d'Anjou in Dijon in 1435 . After his marriage to Isabella of Lorraine, he inherited the Duchy of Lorraine from his father-in-law in 1431. However, he lost it to Antoine de Vaudémont in the Battle of Bulgnéville . He was subsequently held hostage by Duke Philip the Good in the Burgundian capital. There are reports of a painter named Barthélemy at the court of Burgundy in 1440 and 1441, but there is no evidence that it was Barthélemy d'Eyck.

Possible trip to Italy

Depiction of Naples from 1472, Tavola Strozzi , Museo nazionale di San Martino .

Art historians have long noted signs of Italian influence in the works attributed to Barthélemy d'Eyck. At the same time, there is evidence of the influence of Barthélemy d'Eyck's technique on some Italian artists. The Italian humanist Pietro Summonte claimed in 1524 that the Flemish technique of oil painting was personally passed on from René d'Anjou to the Neapolitan painter Colantonio when the king was in Naples from 1438 to 1442. After the death of his brother Ludwig III. von Anjou in 1434 René inherited not only the Duchy of Anjou , but also the property of Joan II of Naples . After his release, René arrived in southern Italy on May 19, 1438 to assert his claim to the title of King of Naples against Alfonso V of Aragon .

However, it is more likely that painters from King René d'Anjou Colantonio's retinue taught the Flemish technique. The Italian art historian Fiorella Sricchia Santoro and her French colleague Nicole Reynaud assume that Barthélemy d'Eyck accompanied his patron. In any case, the presence of his father-in-law Pierre du Billant in Naples in 1440 is documented. The two historians believe that it was during his stay in Naples that he might have created the pages of the Cockerell Chronicle . He could also have accompanied the king on his stopover in Genoa in 1438, where he would have seen the Lomellini triptych by Jan d'Eyck. Opinions on the length of the stay in Italy again differ. According to Sricchia Santoro and the historian Carlo Ginzburg , he stayed with the king in Naples until June 1442 and traveled with him back to France via Florence, where they spent the summer with the pazzis . Nicole Reynaud is of the opinion that Barthélemy d'Eyck returned earlier, together with Isabella of Lorraine and her children, because once again the presence of Pierre du Billant in Aix-en-Provence is documented for March 1441. The whole trip to Italy is an assumption, there is no document to prove it, and there is not even evidence that Barthélemy d'Eyck was in René's service at all at the time. Among the art historians who reject the thesis of a trip to Italy are François Avril and Eberhard König. They remind us that Barthélemy d'Eyck could just as easily have painted the Cockerell Chronicle on the basis of documents from Italy.

Court painter to King René

The presence of Barthélemy d'Eyck in Provence is documented. In a document from 1444 from Aix-en-Provence , he is mentioned as a master and painter ( magister et pictor ) together with another great painter of his time in the region, the Picard Enguerrand Quarton . He later appears in King René's bookkeeping as a painter with the position of valet between 1446 and 1470 and from 1459 as a valet tranchant , which meant that he had the task of slicing the king's roast. This honorary title was often bestowed on court painters in medieval France and was associated with the receipt of a regular income. In 1460 King René Barthélemy d'Eyck gave another position, that of squire of the King of Sicily . In spite of all this, there is no reference to the order of a picture in the documents of King René d'Anjou. Barthélemy d'Eyck's main task was to procure works of art and materials such as parchment. There are art historians like Albert Châtelet who raise the question of whether Barthélemy d'Eyck really worked as an artist or, rather, as a private secretary.

René d'Anjou and his painter were very close. In addition to regular donations, Barthélemy d'Eyck received work rooms with the necessary facilities in some of his properties from his king. These workrooms were always close to the royal apartments. In 1447 it was reported about the castle of Tarascon that there was a room in the royal apartments where Barthélemy worked. In an inventory from the palace of the Count in Aix-en-Provence in 1462, the scriptorio and studio of Barthélemy are described, and there are mentions of Barthélemy's workrooms in the royal residence in Marseille. Last but not least, the list of Angers Castle from 1471 or 1472 tells of a small chamber in the king's room, where there is a small stool on which Barthélemy sits to work. After all, the artist often followed his master on trips. In addition to the possible stay in Naples between 1438 and 1442, he took part in several trips between Anjou and Provence. In addition, he accompanied the king on his trip to Guyenne in the early 1450s.

  • View of the castles of René d'Anjou, where the presence of Barthélemy d'Eyck is documented

  • View of Tarascon Castle in its current state

  • Former Count's Palace of Aix-en-Provence , pen and ink drawing from the 18th century

  • Angers Castle , Galerie du Roi René.

The inventory of Angers Castle shows that Barthélemy was still alive in 1472. However, from a letter written by Jehanne de la Forest, the painter's widow, probably between 1475 and 1480 to René d'Anjou, it appears that the king asked for the pourtraistures of Barthélemy that were still in her possession to be sent would have. This letter not only confirms the painter's recent death, but also the existence of works by Barthélemy, although it is not clear what the work is. At that time, pourtraistures was understood to mean drawings, not necessarily portraits. After the artist's death, the king continued to show his solidarity.

style

Influence from Jan van Eyck, Robert Campin and Conrad Witz

Barthélemy d'Eyck came from the Netherlands and the works ascribed to him clearly show this. They are reminiscent of the early Flemish painting of the 1430s, the time when the artist received his training. The middle panel of his triptych by Aix shows similarities with the Annunciation by Jan van Eyck , which hangs today in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, was created 1430–1435 and was probably commissioned by Philip the Good . It would have been made at the time when Barthélemy was in Dijon and may have met René d'Anjou, who was then in captivity there. Both works show the scene in a church, which was relatively rare at the time. The Aix Annunciation shows a mass in the background, just like Jan van Eyck's Madonna in a church in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin . Van Eyck's influence is thus more a matter of content than style. Another example of this is the dedication scene by Teseida in Vienna , in which the silhouette of the woman from the Arnolfini wedding is found.

  • The Annunciation, Jan van Eyck, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

  • Middle section of the Annunciation altar at Aix.

  • Arnolfini wedding by Jan van Eyck, National Gallery.

  • Dedication in the Théséide de Vienne, f.14v.

Barthélemy d'Eyck also found his inspiration in the works of Robert Campin . Both show the same interest in clear and open light and shadow, but also striving for a realistic representation of the figures and the surface structures of the objects and fabrics. This influence can be seen particularly in the painting of the Holy Family , now in Le Puy-en-Velay , or in the Heures Morgan , which show clear similarities with those works attributed to Campin or his surroundings.

The painter Konrad Witz influenced Barthélemy d'Eyck so much that Sterling assumes that the two knew each other personally. ref? There are some very special details about Witz that can be found in works by d'Eyck. This includes the drapery of dresses and capes with tubular or angular folds. He also took over motifs from Witz that were extremely rarely processed in his time, such as David and the three heroes in the Heures Egerton, which can also be found in the retable of the healing mirror altar in Basel, which Witz painted in 1435.

  • David and the Three Heroes, folio 139 of Heures Egerton, British Library.

  • David and the three heroes, retable of the salvation mirror altar, art museum (Bâle).

  • Wrinkles in the capes of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Gemäldegalerie (Berlin).

Own style

Although Barthélemy d'Eyck's style shows the influence of other artists, he has developed his own recognizable style. Many of his works have a complex spatial organization, such as the triptych of the Annunciation by Aix . His miniatures such as the Théséide von Wien or the tournament treatise convey a feeling of movement. For this, Barthélemy d'Eyck liked to use a double page in his book illuminations, which François Avril describes as an important innovation . In addition, the use of chiaroscuro painting and shadow play can be seen , for example in the book about the love-filled heart . This representation of the light shows the influence of his stay in Provence and the light that characterizes this region. There are opinions among art historians according to which precisely these shadows reveal his authorship of some additions to the Duke of Berry's book of hours .

His treatment of flat or patterned surfaces is another specialty. He makes very fine brushstrokes in the form of very fine hatching, which is also referred to as flochet days . The choice of colors also makes it unique: Barthélemy d'Eyck only rarely uses the azure blue popular with his contemporaries , but a greenish blue, as in the case of the book that the prophet Jeremiah holds in his hand in the triptych of Aix .

Last but not least, his figures are characteristic: they are massive, connected to one another by turning the head or body and usually have a peculiar side view. They express the melancholy that can be found in the texts of his patron René d'Anjou. Their hands are also special: strong and soft, with bony phalanges and short nails they perform a recurring gesture, as if they were pointing at something with their fingers.

  • Chiaroscuro painting in the book of the dear heart, f.2.

  • Depiction of the movement in the tournament treatise, f.76v-77.

  • Posture and gaze of the figures in the Théséide de Vienne, f.64.

  • The green-blue of the book in Jeremiah's hand in the triptych by Aix, Musées royaux des beaux-arts de Belgique.

Master of heraldry and emblematics

All manuscripts ascribed to Barthélemy d'Eyck show a strong mastery of the science of heraldry and the art of emblematics , which were of great importance at the end of the Middle Ages. In 1452 the painter d'Eyck was the author of the paintings in the first book of arms of the order of the Argonauts , the knightly order that emerged from the House of Anjou . The original of this book of arms has been lost, but copies have been preserved. His dexterity in depicting coats of arms is just as evident in the descriptions of tournaments he illustrated as in the emblems in the margins of his books of hours. Here its origins are expressed in the Netherlands, where heraldry originated at that time - Dutch heraldry rules were followed in both France and Germany. Barthélemy d'Eyck could also have served as the herald of René d'Anjou. In addition to the fact that this function was often performed by painters, this thesis is supported by the fact that after 1446 no other herald is mentioned at the court of Provence and Anjou.

In addition, shields and coats of arms are represented in the tournament tract, which are derived from the heraldic decorations that were common at the same time between the Rhine and Maas, the region of origin of Barthélemy d'Eyck.

  • Depiction of flags and helmet decorations in the tournament tract, f.67v-68.

  • Coat of arms of René d'Anjou in the Heures Egerton, f.4v.

  • Edge decoration of blue and black pompons, badge of Louis de Luxembourg-Saint-Pol, to whom the manuscript Pas de la bergère de Tarascon is dedicated, BNF, Fr1974, f.1.

  • Edge of the Heures de René d'Anjou, decorated with a tangle of cords that symbolize the unity from which power arises. BNF, Lat17332, f.31.

Attributed works

literature

  • Eberhard König: The heart that has burned in love. The Vienna Codex and the painter Barthélemy d'Eyck. Graz 1996, ISBN 3-201-01651-9 .

Web links

Commons : Barthélemy d'Eyck  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Rose-Marie Ferré: Barthélemy d'Eyck. In: Marc-Édouard Gautier (ed.): Splendeur de l'enluminure. Le roi René et les livres. Ville d'Angers / Actes Sud, Angers 2009, ISBN 978-2-7427-8611-4 , p. 124.
  2. ↑ a b Rose-Marie Ferré: Barthélemy d'Eyck. In: Marc-Édouard Gautier (ed.): Splendeur de l'enluminure. Le roi René et les livres. Ville d'Angers / Actes Sud, Angers 2009, ISBN 978-2-7427-8611-4 , p. 127.
  3. ↑ a b Dominique Thiébaut (Ed.): Primitifs français. Decouvertes et redécouvertes. Exposition au musée du Louvre du 27 février au 17 may 2004 . RMN, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-7118-4771-3 , pp. 124 .
  4. ^ A b Charles Sterling: Enguerrand Quarton. Le peintre de la Pietà d'Avignon . Réunion des musées nationaux , Paris 1983, ISBN 2-7118-0229-9 , p. 173-183 .
  5. ↑ Eberhard König, François Boespflug: Les "Très Belles Heures" du duc Jean de France, duc de Berry . Le Cerf, 1998, ISBN 2-204-05416-X , p. 267 .
  6. ^ Nicole Reynaud: Barthélémy d'Eyck avant 1450 . In: Revue de l'Art . tape 84 , no. 1 , 1989, pp. 40-41 ( persee.fr ).
  7. ^ Jacques Levron: Le bon roi René . Arthaud, 1972, p. 57-65 .
  8. ↑ Dominique Thiébaut (ed.): Primitifs français. Découvertes et redécouvertes: Exposition au musée du Louvre du 27 février au 17 may 2004 . RMN, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-7118-4771-3 , pp. 135 .
  9. ↑ a b Dominique Thiébaut (Ed.): Primitifs français. Découvertes et redécouvertes: Exposition au musée du Louvre du 27 février au 17 may 2004 . RMN, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-7118-4771-3 , pp. 139-140 .
  10. ^ Jacques Levron: Le bon roi René . Arthaud, 1972, p. 69-77 .
  11. ↑ Fiorella Sricchia Santoro: Antonello et l'Europe . Jaca Book, Milan 1987, p. 194 .
  12. ↑ Carlo Ginzburg and Jeanne Bouniort: Le peintre et le bouffon: le "Portrait de Gonella" de Jean Fouquet . In: Revue de l'Art . tape 111 , 1996, pp. 25-39 .
  13. ^ Albert Châtelet: Pour en finir avec Barthélemy d'Eyck . In: Gazette des Beaux-Arts . tape 131 , no. 6 , 1998, ISSN  0016-5530 , p. 200-203 .
  14. ^ Albert Châtelet: Pour en finir avec Barthélemy d'Eyck . In: Gazette des Beaux-Arts . tape 131 , no. 6 , 1998, ISSN  0016-5530 , p. 215-217 .
  15. ^ Nicole Reynaud: Lettre de la veuve de Barthélemy d'Eyck au roi René. In: Marc-Édouard Gautier (ed.): Splendeur de l'enluminure. Le roi René et les livres. Ville d'Angers / Actes Sud, Angers 2009, ISBN 978-2-7427-8611-4 , pp. 274-275.
  16. ↑ Borchert, Till-Holger, Dumolyn, Jan, Martens, Maximiliaan: Van Eyck, Belser Verlag, Stuttgart 2020, ISBN 9783763028573 , p. 22ff.
  17. ^ Rose-Marie Ferré: Barthélemy d'Eyck. In: Marc-Édouard Gautier (ed.): Splendeur de l'enluminure. Le roi René et les livres. Ville d'Angers / Actes Sud, Angers 2009, ISBN 978-2-7427-8611-4 , pp. 128-129.
  18. ↑ Rose-Marie Ferré: Le retable de l'Annonciation d'Aix de Barthélemy d'Eyck: Une pratique originale de la vision entre peinture et performance . In: European Medieval Drama . 12, No. 2008, August, ISSN  1287-7484 , pp. 163-183. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  19. ^ Eberhard König: Boccace, La Théséide . In: Marc-Édouard Gautier (ed.): Splendeur de l'enluminure. Le roi René et les livres. Ville d'Angers / Actes Sud, Angers 2009, ISBN 978-2-7427-8611-4 , pp. 268-273.
  20. ^ Nicole Reynaud: Barthélémy d'Eyck avant 1450 . In: Revue de l'Art . tape 84 , no. 1 , 1989, pp. 23, 24, 40 ( persee.fr ).
  21. ^ François Avril and Nicole Reynaud: Les manuscrits à peintures en France, 1440-1520 . BNF / Flammarion, 1993, ISBN 978-2-08-012176-9 , pp. 230 .
  22. ^ Nicole Reynaud: Barthélémy d'Eyck avant 1450 . In: Revue de l'Art . tape 84 , no. 1 , 1989, pp. 24 ( persee.fr ).
  23. ^ Yves Bottineau-Fuchs: Peindre en France au XVe siècle . Actes Sud, Arles 2006, ISBN 2-7427-6234-5 , pp. 129 .
  24. ^ François Avril: Tournoi de Bruges de 1393 and René d'Anjou, Livre des tournois. 1404-1482. In: Bernard Bousmanne, Thierry Delcourt: Miniatures flamandes. Bibliothèque nationale de France / Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, 2012.
  25. ↑ a b Rose-Marie Ferré: Barthélemy d'Eyck. In: Marc-Édouard Gautier (ed.): Splendeur de l'enluminure. Le roi René et les livres. Ville d'Angers / Actes Sud, Angers 2009, ISBN 978-2-7427-8611-4 , p. 129.
  26. ^ Nicole Reynaud: Barthélémy d'Eyck avant 1450 . In: Revue de l'Art . tape 84 , no. 1 , 1989, pp. 35 ( persee.fr ).
  27. ^ Yves Bottineau-Fuchs: Peindre en France au XVe siècle . Actes Sud, Arles 2006, ISBN 2-7427-6234-5 , pp. 128 .
  28. ^ Christian de Mérindol: Armoiries et emblèmes dans les livres et chartes du roi René et de ses proches. Le rôle de Barthélemy d'Eyck. In: Marc-Édouard Gautier (ed.): Splendeur de l'enluminure. Le roi René et les livres. Ville d'Angers / Actes Sud, Angers 2009, ISBN 978-2-7427-8611-4 , pp. 163-165.
  29. ^ Nicole Reynaud: Barthélémy d'Eyck avant 1450 . In: Revue de l'Art . tape 84 , no. 1 , 1989, pp. 41 ( persee.fr ).
personal data
SURNAME Eyck, Barthelemy d '
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Flemish painter
DATE OF BIRTH before 1444
DATE OF DEATH around 1476