around 1440 -1482 · Ghent, Brussels and Flemish painting

Monumental figures, upset faces and symbolic details make Hugo van der Goes a master of Flemish painting capable of uniting naturalism, devotion and inner drama.

Hugo van der Goes was probably born around 1440. His origin remains uncertain, but his documented career began in Ghent, where he was made master of the painters' guild in 1467. He participated in the large ephemeral decorations commissioned by the city for the ceremonies of the court of Burgundy and became dean of the guild in 1474 -1475. These responsibilities testify to an already considerable reputation. His preserved work, today reconstructed by stylistic comparison, is distinguished by the breadth of the figures, the intensity of the emotions and a light which describes with the same precision faces, fabrics, flowers and space. The Portinari Triptych offers the most famous synthesis. Tommaso Portinari, representative of the Medici bank in Bruges, he was painted between 1473 and 1478 for the Sant'Egidio church of the Santa Maria Nuova hospital in Florence. In the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Naked Child rests on the ground and becomes a source of light. Shepherds with powerfully individualized features, angels, donors, ruined architecture and symbolic flowers are organized around this fragile center. Arriving in Florence in 1483, the immense altarpiece deeply impressed Ghirlandaio, Filippino Lippi and other Italian artists with its naturalism and the brilliance of oil painting. Arriving in Florence in 1483, the immense altarpiece deeply impressed Ghirlandaio, Filippino Lippi and other Italian artists with its naturalism and the brilliance of oil painting. Arriving in Florence in 1483, the immense altarpiece deeply impressed Ghirlandaio, Filippino Lippi and other Italian artists with its naturalism and the brilliance of oil painting. Arriving in Florence in 1483, the immense altarpiece deeply impressed Ghirlandaio, Filippino Lippi and other Italian artists with its naturalism and the brilliance of oil painting. Arriving in Florence in 1483, the immense altarpiece deeply impressed Ghirlandaio, Filippino Lippi and other Italian artists to receive visitors and work. The story of the monk Gaspar Ofhuys reports a serious psychological crisis made of anguish, guilt and delirium. We must avoid reducing late works to this single episode, but The Death of the Virgin clearly demonstrates an exceptional dramatic concentration: the apostles gathered around the bed each express mourning with a singular face and gesture. The Fall of Man, the Lamentations and the portraits reveal the same capacity to unite observation and spiritual tension. Van der Goes died at the Rouge-Cloître in 1482. Despite a relatively small body of work, his influence extends from the ancient Netherlands to Renaissance Italy. THERE selection "Hugo van der Goes" notably compares The Portinari Altarpiece: Adoration of the Shepherds and The Death of the Virgin. His reading favors details.

Van der Goes renders devotion physical: a face, a hand or a flower carries as much meaning as the entire architecture of the altarpiece.