The Flemish Primitives I

The publication of the first in a five-volume scholarly catalogue of the 15th-century southern Netherlandish paintings in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels is a long awaited event. The museums' rich collection of Flemish Primitives boasts paintings by Rogier van der Weyden, Gerard David, Petrus Christus, Dirk Bouts, Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch. It also includes several important works by artists with provisional names from the schools of Tournai, Bruges and Brussels, such as the Master of Flemalle, the Master of the St Lucy Legend and the Master of the Life of Joseph. This multi-volume English-language catalogue will include approximately 100 paintings. Each work is the subject of a thourough analysis covering technical, historical, iconographical and stylistic aspects. The catalogue contains colour reproductions of each painting as well as other visual documentation from laboratory investigations (infrared reflectograms, ultra-violet fluorescence photographs; X-radiographs, macro photographs), photographs of related works and diagrams of the original frames. The wealth of documentation presented in this volumes makes it an indispensable reference for both scholars and amateurs interested in 15th-century painting.