active from 1482 to after 1504 · Lyon, Moulins and Cour de Bourbon

Delicate faces, Flemish light and Bourbonnais splendor made Jean Hey, long called Maître de Moulins, one of the greatest painters active in France around 1500.

Jean Hey is a painter of probably Nordic origin, active in France from the 1480s. His name appears on the reverse of an Ecce Homo dated 1494, where he is described as a remarkable painter. This inscription made it possible to gradually bring the artist closer to the mysterious Master of Moulins, thus designated after the large triptych preserved in Moulins Cathedral. The consensus of art historians today largely identifies the two personalities. Hey first worked in ecclesiastical networks, then in the service of the Bourbon court, around Pierre II, Anne of France known as Anne de Beaujeu and their daughter Suzanne. The Moulins Triptych, painted around 1498 -1500, brings together in the center the glorious Virgin surrounded by angels and, on the shutters, the donors presented by their patron saints. Light, reds, blues and the precision of faces combine Flemish tradition and French monumentality. Duke Peter II of Bourbon presented by Saint Peter develops the same balance between political portrait and devotion. The saint protects the prince without diminishing the individuality of his face or the richness of his clothing. The saint protects the prince without diminishing the individuality of his face or the richness of his clothes. The Portrait of the dauphin Charles-Orlant, a child who died before the age of four, captures a fragile presence with remarkable sobriety. The Portrait of the dauphin Charles-Orlant, a child who died before the age of four, captures a fragile presence with remarkable sobriety. The Portrait of the dauphin Charles-Orlant, a child who died before the age of four, captures a fragile presence with remarkable sobriety. The Portrait of the dauphin Charles-Orlant, a child who died before the age of four, captures a fragile presence with remarkable sobriety. The Portrait of the dauphin Charles-Orlant, a child who contained pain, close hands and the body of Christ make up silent mourning. Hey also paints panels for Cardinal Jean Rolin, portraits of the Bourbon family and several fragments of altarpieces. His exact journey remains incomplete, but his work documents the circulation of artists and styles between the Netherlands, Burgundy, Lyon and the French court at the dawn of the 16th century. He is mentioned for the last time after 1504. The "Jean Hey" selection notably compares Triptych of Moulins and Pietà with Saint John and Saint Madeleine. His reading favors light.

Jean Hey makes devotion a facial art: prince, child or saint preserve their individuality while entering the luminous order of the altarpiece.