Maubeuge, circa 1478 - Antwerp, 1532 · Nordic Renaissance and Roman antiquity

Mabuse combines Flemish precision with the architecture and bodies of the Italian Renaissance: his sacred figures possess both devotional intensity and physical presence.

Jan Gossart, known as Mabuse after his hometown of Maubeuge, is one of the great mediators between Flemish painting and the Italian Renaissance. Registered with the guild of Saint-Luc of Antwerp in 1503, he accompanied Philippe de Bourgogne to Rome in 1508 -1509. The study of antiquities, architecture and the nude lastingly transformed his manner. On his return, he worked for powerful Burgundian patrons and introduced a new monumentality into the Nordic tradition, without abandoning the precision of materials, jewelry and faces. Jesus Christ between the Virgin and Saint John the Baptist, painted around 1510 -1520, freely takes up the central figures of the altarpiece of the mystical Lamb of the brothers Van Eyck. The three characters appear under complex Gothic architecture, while an angel sings from a circular opening. The ancient model is thus rethought after the Roman journey: the architectural depth and the bodily presence renew an image of salvation. In the Virgin and Child, the intimacy of mother and son gains an almost sculptural density. Gossart gives devotional subjects a controlled sensuality which was much admired and widely copied. His art therefore brings together Van Eyck's memory, Rome experience and court culture. His art therefore brings together Van Eyck's memory, Rome experience and court culture. The "Jan Mabuse" selection therefore brings together the memory of Van Eyck, the experience of Rome and court culture. The "Jan Mabuse" selection therefore brings together Jesus Christ between the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist and Virgin and Child. His reading favors the story.

Gossart looks at Van Eyck with the eyes of an artist who has returned from Rome: the Flemish detail remains, but the bodies and space take on a new dimension.