Coverbild The Flemish Masters
A hardcover book titled The Flemish Masters, From Van Eyck to Bruegel, is displayed on a white background. The cover features a detail from a classic Flemish painting depicting a group of popes and bishops in opulent red robes and elaborate, jeweled crowns.
An angled, studio shot of a hardcover art book titled The Flemish Masters, From Van Eyck to Bruegel, against a plain white background. The cover features a detailed Flemish painting of several solemn clergymen in ornate red robes and elaborate, jewel-encrusted headwear.
An overhead view of an open art history book on a white surface. The two-page spread is titled Painting The 15th-century revolution and includes text about oil painting and realism alongside three color reproductions of Renaissance artworks: a female portrait, a Deposition of Christ scene, and a Madonna and Child scene.
An open art book on a white surface displays a two-page spread of a classical painting. The left page shows a close-up of a hand in an ornate blue and gold garment holding a red apple. The right page is a close-up of a young woman's face with fair skin and brown hair, looking down with a solemn expression.
An open art book showing a two-page spread of Hieronymus Bosch's Haywain Triptych. The left page contains a block of text describing the artwork, and the right page displays the painting itself, featuring a traveler with a staff walking through a symbolic landscape filled with various figures and scenes.
A two-page spread from an art history book. The right page shows the table of contents with chapter titles including New Directions in Painting and Portraiture: People & Society. The left page features a full-page painting of a large, dramatic blue-green cloud over a calm sea, with a small flock of birds flying above the horizon.
A two-page spread from a book about Jan van Eyck's 1434 painting, The Arnolfini Portrait. The left page contains text about the artwork. The right page shows the full painting, depicting a man in a dark cloak and a tall hat holding hands with a woman in a voluminous green dress inside a richly decorated room with a small dog at their feet.
A side-by-side image showing two details from a realistic oil painting. The left panel displays a pair of wooden pattens with dark straps lying on a dark wooden floor. The right panel shows the corner of a dimly lit room with an open window, where an orange rests on the sill and several more sit on a chest below.
An art book page displaying two detailed sections from a Hieronymus Bosch painting. The left image shows a wide, chaotic scene featuring a monstrous figure in a pink hood on a wheel, devouring a human. The right image is a close-up of a nude figure hanging upside down from a thorny branch that extends from a bizarre, fleshy pink creature.
A two-page spread from an art book. The left page contains text about Pieter Bruegel the Elder's 1563 painting, Dulle Griet (Mad Meg). The right page shows the painting: a chaotic, hellish landscape under a fiery sky. A giant armored woman strides through the scene with a sword, surrounded by grotesque monsters, fighting women, and the gaping mouth of Hell.
A book spread showing two surreal painting details. On the left is a close-up of a large, monstrous eye with a brown iris, shaded by a wooden plank on which three small birds are perched. On the right, a humanoid frog-like creature with a basket over its head climbs a ladder towards a figure at the top of a rock face.
An open book spread displays Joachim Patinir's painting, Baptism of Christ, from circa 1521-24. On the right, the painting depicts John the Baptist baptizing Jesus in a river set against a vast, mountainous landscape. God the Father appears in the clouds above. On the left page is descriptive text about the artwork.
A book page displaying two details from oil paintings. On the left, a person's hand with a ring counts gold coins on a green table, surrounded by an ornate crystal vessel, pearls, and rings on a scroll. On the right, a still life shows a decorative embossed metal plate with an orange in front of it.
A two-page spread from an art book. The left page has text about the artist Quinten Massys and his painting. The right page displays the painting, Mary Magdalene, c. 1514-24. The arched artwork shows a woman with a somber, downcast expression, holding open a white ointment jar. In the background is a landscape with buildings.
The back cover of a hardcover book titled The Flemish Masters, lying on a white background. The cover is divided vertically; the left side is a solid reddish-brown with descriptive text and a barcode, while the right side displays a detailed painting of a crowd of men with varied expressions, dressed in historical robes.
The Flemish Masters
From Van Eyck to Bruegel
€ 40.00
VAT included. Shipping costs will be calculated at checkout
Graphic Design: Leen Depooter
Texts by: Matthias Depoorter
English
March 2023, 280 Pages, 300 Photos
Hardcover
244mm x 300mm
ISBN: 978-3-7757-5414-9

HATJE CANTZ VERLAG
Mommsenstr. 27
10629 Berlin
Germany
E-Mail: contact@hatjecantz.de


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| A Revolution of Light and Color
Occasionally, when something seems very familiar you lose sight of what makes it so special: Flemish Masters. From van Eyck to Bruegel sets out to counteract this effect and opens our eyes once again to the revolution that took place in the Low Countries in the 15th and 16th centuries that shaped the course of European art. In 48 lavishly illustrated analyses, Matthias Depoorter explores how painters such as Van Eyck, Van der Weiden, Massys, Bosch, and Bruegel reached unprecedented heights, and are rightfully considered innovators to this day.
The defining factor was the perfecting and mastery of the oil painting technique as well as the groundbreaking attention to optical lighting effects. The new technical possibilities offered a different way of looking at the world and ultimately a new way of painting. No less innovative was the level of detail. These painters were thoroughly acquainted with each other's work—this volume shows the fundamental artistic cross-fertilization. A must-read for anyone who wants to fall in love with the old masterpieces anew.

MATTHIAS DEPOORTER (*1980) is a writer and an art historian. He was one of the curators of the seminal exhibition Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent and coordinated the accompanying scholarly publication.
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