Northern Early Modern

Diptychs and Triptychs

“Flemish painting will, generally speaking, please the devout better

than any painting of Italy, which will never cause him to shed a tear,

whereas that of Flanders will cause him to shed many…. It will

appeal to women, especially the very old and the very young, and

also to monks and nuns and to certain noblemen who have no sense

of true [artistic] harmony.

In Flanders they paint with a view to deceiving sensual vision….

They paint stuffs and masonry, the grass of the fields , the shadows

of trees, and rivers….which they call landscapes…. And all this

though it pleases some persons, is done without reason or art,

without symmetry or proportion, without skill, selection or boldness,

and finally without substance or vigor. And I do not speak so ill of

Flemish painting because it is all bad, but because it attempts to do

so many things well, that it does none well.”

The Merode Altarpiece by Robert Campin, oil on panel, 1426

Western “Royal” portal , Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France, 12th ce

Diptychs and

Triptychs

Bibaut Diptych Master of the Magdalen and Anon. French artist,

1523, oil on panels

[verso]Bibaut diptych

Maarten van Nieuwenhove diptych by Hans Memling, 1487, oil on panel

Maarten van Nieuwenhove diptych by Hans Memling, 1487, oil on panel

Maarten van Nieuwenhove diptych by Hans Memling, 1487, oil on panel

The Merode Altarpiece by Robert Campin, oil on panel, 1426

(exterior wings)Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes, oil on panel, 1473 - 78

(exterior wings)Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes, oil on panel, 1473 - 78

Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes, oil on panel, 1473 - 78

Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes, oil on panel, 1473 - 78

(detail of landscape)Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der

Goes, oil on panel, 1473 - 78

Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes, oil on panel, 1473 - 78

detail of still life in Portinari Altarpiece

Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes, oil on panel, 1473 - 78

detail of angels in Portinari Altarpiece

detail of demon in Portinari Altarpiece

Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes, oil on panel, 1473 - 78