Rogier Van Der Weyden Biography | Oil Paintings

Walloon “Rogelet de la Pasture” translated his name into Flemish and thus became Rogier van der Weyden. Brussels, after becoming the capital of the Dutchy of Philip the Good in 1430, blossomed into a new center of culture, with important architectural projects and a painting school of their own. The leading figure of this school was Van der Weyden, who studied painting under Robert Campin in his native city of Tournai and was younger than Jan van Eyck.

From 1436, he was employed by the cities and members of the Burgundian court, where he made his mark both as an artist and as a prominent citizen, Rogier Van der Weyden was a painter of international renown. On the one hand, he introduced religious scenes with large figures in scaled perspective, typical of Italian art, into Flemish painting, while on the other he exported a taste for fine detail and the new technique of oil painting – with several different layers superimposed to get the effects of transparency and atmosphere – to southern Europe.

Van der Weyden A Flemish Master at the Heart of European Art.

In 1449-50 Van der Weyden traveled to Rome for the Jubilee. During his journey, he was able to observe the works of Masaccio and Fra Angelico in Florence. He also stopped in Ferrara where he was the guest of the magnificent Este court; there he met Piero Della Francesca and Leon Battista Alberti and began to make his compositions even more grandiose.

A sensitive observer of character and an accurate painter of physical appearance, a very accomplished technician, he excelled not only in drawing and composition but also in his use of color. Van der Weyden was one of the most refined and influential portraitists of the early fifteenth century. His main contribution to the progress of art was in his expressive portraiture, one of the finest painters to convey the character and psychological profile of the model or the subject. He combined deep religious feelings with a desire to make the greatest impact on the spectator and in this, he succeeded.

A masterpiece of fifteenth-century European painting, The Deposition Descent From The Cross illustrates van der Weyden style. He enclosed the image within a box-like perspective, adapting the large figures to the constriction by arranging them on different planes. His emotional style is evident in the fainting Virgin, whose pose reflects that of Christ's descending body.

He wielded enormous influence over his contemporaries and the ensuing generation of Flemish artists. His vigorous, subtle, expressive painting and popular religious conceptions had considerable influence on European painting, not only in France and Germany but also in Italy and Spain.

Art Movement: Northern Renaissance.
Artists Influencing Van der Weyden: Robert Campin.
He Traveled To Italy, Netherlands.
Painters Van der Weyden Influenced: Hans Memling, Martin Schongauer.
Artist Biography compiled by Albert L. Mansour at The World's Artist.