CHRISTUS, Petrus Netherlandish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1410-1473 St Eligius in His Workshop 1449 Oil on wood, 98 x 85 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York St Eligius, who was born c. 590 in Limousin, notably in the making of reliquaries has become one of the most popular saints of the Christian West. Ancient tradition credits him with extraordinary talent as a goldsmith. St Eligius in His Workshop remains to this day the best-known and best-loved painting of Petrus Christus. It shows two young fiances who have brought the patron saint of goldsmiths a quantity of precious metal to be melted down and fashioned into rings as token of their love. Christus gives us an extremely detailed representation of the goldsmith's shop. Not only are there all the instruments of the trade, but also many liturgical objects, carefully arranged on shelves. There is also a convex circular mirror on the right-hand side of St Eligius's table, in an obvious allusion to the Arnolfini Marriage by Jan van Eyk. In it we can see the reflection of a square, with a couple of passers-by. Although the presence of the saint gives the work a religious dimension, this remains essentially a genre painting: that is, a representation of secular and commercial activities, a scene from everyday life. , Artist: CHRISTUS, Petrus , St Eligius in His Workshop , 1451-1500 , Flemish , painting , religious
The Nativity Netherlandish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1410-1473 Painting ID:: 63975
CHRISTUS, Petrus Netherlandish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1410-1473 The Nativity 1445 Wood, 130 x 97 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington The painter, a follower of Jan van Eyck, here illustrates the Biblical theme in terms of contemporary life in his native city of Bruges. Joseph, for example, is shown as a Flemish peasant who, realizing he is on holy ground, has removed his wooden clogs. Under the influence of Rogier van der Weyden, Christus has framed the scene with a sculptured archway, typical of late Gothic churches in Flanders. These simulated sculpture groups, depicting the stories in Genesis of man and his sin, illustrate the historical reason for the subject of the painting, the coming of Christ as the Redeemer. , Artist: CHRISTUS, Petrus , The Nativity , 1451-1500 , Flemish , painting , religious
Portait of a Young Man Netherlandish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1410-1473 Painting ID:: 63976
CHRISTUS, Petrus Netherlandish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1410-1473 Portait of a Young Man 1460 Wood, 35,5 x 26,3 cm National Gallery, London The painting is probably the left wing of a triptych. , Artist: CHRISTUS, Petrus , Portait of a Young Man , 1451-1500 , Flemish , painting , portrait
Portrait of a Young Girl after Netherlandish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1410-1473 Painting ID:: 63981
CHRISTUS, Petrus Netherlandish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1410-1473 Portrait of a Young Girl after 29 x 22,5 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin Although the general quality of Petrus Christus's work is in doubt, a single painting, generally dated from the end of his active life, is convincing. It is the Portrait of a Young Girl in the Staatliche Museen in Berlin. The surface has the brilliance of porcelain and the purity of the overall effect looks forward to Vermeer. The lively expression of the girl and her oblique glance, suggesting that something or someone just outside the frame has caught her attention, contrasts with the frontal composition. The pink of her cheeks and lips introduces some warmth into the face, while the pure white and brown-black of the eyes echo the underlying tones of the wall behind her. Petrus Christus's portraits were once condescendingly described as rough-hewn and stilted. Yet this young girl is surely closer to Upton's description of her: "a polished pearl, almost opalescent, lying on a cushion of black velvet". , Artist: CHRISTUS, Petrus , Portrait of a Young Girl , 1451-1500 , Flemish , painting , portrait