BAREND VAN ORLEY
Of the school that flourished in Brussels before Italianism appeared in the person of Barend van Orley (c. 1495–1542), the only name that has come down to posterity is that of Rogier van der Weyden’s follower, Colin de Coter, thanks to the clear inscription
Colin de Coter pinxit me in Brabancia Bruxelle
on the hem of the dress of the kneeling Magdalen in The Holy Women (No. 1952b), which, with The Trinity (No. 1952a) and another lost panel, probably originally formed a triptych. The signed wing was presented to the Gallery in 1903; whilst the Trinity centre-piece was bought two years later from the Abbé Toussaint at St. Omer for £120.
Like Mabuse, Barend van Orley, after showing in his early work clear traces of his descent from the Flemish primitives, drank deeply at the fountain of Italian art. He was profoundly impressed by Raphael, from whom he endeavoured, with a certain degree of success, to learn the noble flow of drapery and the harmonious disposition of the design. On the other hand, he sacrificed the lustrous richness of Early Flemish colour and became addicted to dull grey shadows and pinkish lights. His Holy Family (No. 2067a) does not rank with his finest works, The Last Judgment at Antwerp and the Holy Family at Liverpool. The architectural setting, with a statue of Neptune in a square in the background, indicates the advent of the Renaissance. The picture was bought at the Otlet sale in Brussels, in 1902, for £540. With Barend van Orley closes the chapter of the Early Flemish school. Indeed, he was rather the first of the new era than the last of the primitives.
PLATE XX.—JAN MABUSE
(1470?–1533?)
EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL
No. 1997.—PORTRAIT OF JEAN CARONDELET, PERPETUAL CHANCELLOR OF FLANDERS
(Portrait de Jean Carondelet, chancelier perpétuel de Flandre (1469–1544))
He is bare-headed and wears a blue robe; he is turned three-quarters to the right; his hands are folded in prayer.
Painted in oil on panel.
Inscribed on the frame:—“représentacion de messire jehan carondelet, havlt doyen de besançon, en son eage de 48ā,” and, below, “fait l’an 1517.”
1 ft. 5 in. × 10¾ in. (0·43 × 0·27.)