Flemish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1488-1541, Painter and tapestry designer, son of Valentin van Orley. He was one of the greatest proponents of ROMANISM, a northern style based on the ideals of the Italian Renaissance. It must have been in Brussels, however, that he saw the Italian works of art that influenced him so profoundly, for it seems unlikely that he ever travelled to Italy. Brussels was then world-renowned as the centre for tapestry manufacture but was suffering from the ecliptic rise of Antwerp as the pre-eminent painting centre. The artist made the best of both situations, establishing himself as a leading designer for the Brussels tapestry industry and as a master in the Antwerp Guild of St Luke by 1517.
Triptych of Virtue of Patience
1521 Oil on oak, 174 x 80 cm (each wing) Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels The triptych, which was very likely commissioned by Margaret of Austria, the governor of the Low Countries, depicts two biblical episodes illustrating the virtues of patience: the Book of Job and the parable of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man. Since the Middle Ages it had been common practice to draw a parallel between the resignation of Job and of Lazarus in the face of misfortune and the constancy of their faith in God. When closed, the triptych depicts the parable of Lazarus. At the bottom of the wings, divided into three symmetrical registers, Lazarus is dying at the rich man's gate, whilst the latter suffers eternal torment. The Italianate pose, and the monumentality and beauty of the nude are inspired by Raphael. In the centre, the rich man's feast, followed by his agony, take place in a sumptuous mansion. His wife, bringing him communion, and the physician, examining his urine, are looking after him whilst, in hell, two demons are torturing him, presenting him with a chalice writhing with serpents and a bowl filled with an infernal liquid. At the top, Lazarus' soul rises up to heaven in the form of a child, first held up by two angels in a transparent bubble, then in the bosom of Abraham. Van Orley creates his masterpiece by marrying the Flemish tradition with the new directions of Italian art and his own inventiveness. The result is a veritable profession of faith in the Renaissance, underlined by the artist's motto, "Elx syne tyt" (each in his time) inscribed on the pillar to the left of the central panel. , Artist: ORLEY, Bernaert van , Triptych of Virtue of Patience (closed) , 1501-1550 , Flemish , painting , religious