The Pioneers of Oil Painting in the 14th and 15th Century Flanders (Essay Sample)

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The Pioneers of Oil Painting in the 14th and 15th Century Flanders
In the 14th and 15th centuries, Flanders was the most urbanized region in Northern Europe. Oil painting was the most prominent, and it involved painting using pigments with a medium of dried oil as the central binder. Painters, such as Jan van Eyck, Hugo van der Goes, and Rogier van der Weyden were globally recognized, receiving financial backing from low countries (today Netherlands, Belgium, and northern Germany) and Italy, nations where oil-paint technique had a substantial influence (Murray). Besides, wealthy citizens acted as clients for some of the most famous Flemish paintings. For example, the Ghent merchant Jodocus Vajd, the Italian banker, financed Hubert and Jan van Eyck’s celebrated Ghent Altarpiece painted in 1432 for Ghent’s cathedral of Siant Bavo whereas Bruges resident Tommaso Portinari bankrolled van der Goes’s Portinari Altarpiece (Kleiner and Gardner 540). On the other hand, the guild of archers of Leuven ordered van der Weyden’s Decent from the Cross.
The Flemish style represented a systematic technique that simplified the process. It did not take initial sketches from life, meaning that most of these paintings were stereotyped. The Flanders, including Jan van Eyck, utilized a thin layer of paint with an olive hue. He employed this oil painting technique to depict his view of the world. The majority of the paints had religious inspirations, including the Ghent Altarpiece, the Last Judgement, Saint Barbara, Annunciation, and the Virgin and the Child (Murray; Kleiner and Gardner 538). The most expensive artworks included tapestries and goldwork often commissioned by nobles for their allies and relatives.
Overall, prominent artists, including Hugo van der Goes, Rogier van der Weyden, Robert Campin, and Jan van