Van der Weyden, Rogier

(ca. 1399-1464)

   Flemish painter, in his own time considered second only to Jan van Eyck among North-ern European artists. Influenced by both van Eyck and Robert Campin, he produced a large body of brilliantly colored and exquis-itely detailed paintings in a number of genres. His earliest major work, Deposition from the Cross (ca. 1435), is notable for its striking depiction of emotion. In 1450 Rogier made the jubilee pilgrimage to Rome and left behind two paintings that show Italian influence, Vir-gin and Child with Four Saints (also called the Medici Madonna) and Farewell at the Tomb. In general, however, his work after 1450 shows little significant Italian influence. He painted many portraits, among which the most striking are Portrait of Francesco d'Este, Portrait of a Lady, and Philippe de Croy, the latter paired with the most striking of his treatments of the theme Virgin and Child.