Jacques de Baerze
Encyclopedia
Jacques de Baerze was a Flemish
sculptor in wood, two of whose major carved altarpiece
s survive in Dijon
, now in France, then the capital of the Duchy of Burgundy
.
De Baerze probably came from Ghent
, and lived in Dendermonde
(Termonde in French) some thirty kilometres away, which is also not far from Antwerp and Brussels
. He was clearly a well-established master before the death in January 1384 of the local ruler, Louis II of Flanders
, Duke of Brabant
, as two commissions from Louis to produce carved altarpieces are recorded, though the works have not survived. These were for the chapel of the castle of Dendermonde, and the hospice of the Cistercian abbey of Bijloke, then just outside Ghent.
These works were noticed by Philip the Bold
, Duke of Burgundy, Louis' son-in-law and successor as Count of Flanders
. In 1385 Philip had founded a Carthusian
monastery, the Charterhouse
of Champmol
, then just outside Dijon
, as the dynastic burial-place of the Burgundian Valois, and was filling it with impressive works of art. In 1390, he commissioned de Baerze to create two similar altarpieces for Champmol: one, now known as the Altar of Saints and Martyrs for the chapter house
, and the larger, now known as the Retable of the Crucifixion, for the main altar of the church. Both are triptych
s with hinged wings, carved on the interior, but the exterior panels, showing when the wings were closed, were to be painted by his court artist Melchior Broederlam
(another Fleming who also previously worked for Louis) — a common arrangement for a grand altarpiece. These painted outer panels only survive for the larger of the two retables. The triptychs would normally be shown closed, displaying the paintings, but opened to show the carvings for feast days.
The iconography
of the two artists' elements was designed to complement each other, with a painted sequence of scenes from the Infancy of Christ and within, carved scenes of the Adoration of the Magi, the Crucifixion
in the centre, and the Entombment of Christ
, flanked by saints on the inside of the side-panels. Above there is elaborate Gothic tracery
with small figures of saints and angels. The whole of both works is either gilded or painted. The Altar of Saints and Martyrs is 159 cm high, and 252 cm wide with the wings open. For the Retable of the Crucifixion the equivalent figures are 167 cm and 252 cm.
The retables were transported to Dijon from Dendermonde in August 1391, but were returned to Flanders a year later. There, the painting and gilding was finished by Broederlam at his studio in Ypres
; guild
regulations usually mandated that the carving and painting or guilding were performed by members of different guilds. They were returned to Champmol, approved by a committee including Claus Sluter
, and installed by the end of 1399, after which de Baerze disappears from documented records.
The altarpieces were moved after the French Revolution to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon
, along with the Broederlam panels, which now, unlike at the time of their creation, receive more attention than the carvings, as they are of great significance in the development of Early Netherlandish painting
, and painting is generally of greater interest to modern art historians than sculpture. De Baerze's two retables are probably the earliest Netherlandish examples to survive complete, although there were evidently many more such works in existence by this date, and the form probably developed first in the Low Countries
. With hardly any works from the period to compare to those in Dijon, it is hard to assess the originality of de Baerze, or his place in the tradition, though he clearly participates in the International Gothic
style of the period. Presumably most of his work was for local churches and religious houses. In fact the iconoclasm
after the Reformation was so destructive of Netherlandish wood-carved altars that only a few fragments survive there from the following eighty years, while Germany has many examples.
Other smaller carvings attributed to de Baerze survive, including the 28 cm high figure from an altar crucifix which formed part of the Champmol commission, now in the Art Institute of Chicago
, and a St George in the Mimara Museum
in Zagreb
.
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
sculptor in wood, two of whose major carved altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
s survive in Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
, now in France, then the capital of the Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
.
De Baerze probably came from Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, and lived in Dendermonde
Dendermonde
Dendermonde is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde proper and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, Mespelare, Oudegem, Schoonaarde, and Sint-Gillis-bij-Dendermonde...
(Termonde in French) some thirty kilometres away, which is also not far from Antwerp and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. He was clearly a well-established master before the death in January 1384 of the local ruler, Louis II of Flanders
Louis II of Flanders
Louis II of Flanders , also Louis III of Artois and Louis I of Palatine Burgundy, known as Louis of Male, was the son of Louis I of Flanders and Margaret I of Burgundy, and Count of Flanders.On his father's death at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, he inherited the counties of Flanders, Nevers, and...
, Duke of Brabant
Duke of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...
, as two commissions from Louis to produce carved altarpieces are recorded, though the works have not survived. These were for the chapel of the castle of Dendermonde, and the hospice of the Cistercian abbey of Bijloke, then just outside Ghent.
These works were noticed by Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV...
, Duke of Burgundy, Louis' son-in-law and successor as Count of Flanders
Count of Flanders
The Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....
. In 1385 Philip had founded a Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monastery, the Charterhouse
Charterhouse
A Charterhouse is a Carthusian monastery. The word is derived from Chartreuse, the first monastery of the order having been established in a valley of the Chartreuse Mountains.It can refer to numerous monasteries:It can also refer to:...
of Champmol
Champmol
The Chartreuse de Champmol, formally the Chartreuse de la Sainte-Trinité de Champmol, was a Carthusian monastery on the outskirts of Dijon, which is now in France, but in the 15th century was the capital of the Duchy of Burgundy...
, then just outside Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
, as the dynastic burial-place of the Burgundian Valois, and was filling it with impressive works of art. In 1390, he commissioned de Baerze to create two similar altarpieces for Champmol: one, now known as the Altar of Saints and Martyrs for the chapter house
Chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....
, and the larger, now known as the Retable of the Crucifixion, for the main altar of the church. Both are triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
s with hinged wings, carved on the interior, but the exterior panels, showing when the wings were closed, were to be painted by his court artist Melchior Broederlam
Melchior Broederlam
Melchior Broederlam was one of the earliest Early Netherlandish painters to whom surviving works can be confidently attributed. He worked mostly for Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and is documented from 1381 to 1409...
(another Fleming who also previously worked for Louis) — a common arrangement for a grand altarpiece. These painted outer panels only survive for the larger of the two retables. The triptychs would normally be shown closed, displaying the paintings, but opened to show the carvings for feast days.
The iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
of the two artists' elements was designed to complement each other, with a painted sequence of scenes from the Infancy of Christ and within, carved scenes of the Adoration of the Magi, the Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
in the centre, and the Entombment of Christ
Entombment of Christ
The Entombment redirects here. For other uses, The Entombment The Entombment of Christ, that is to say the burial of Jesus Christ, occurred after his death by crucifixion, when, according to the gospel accounts, he was placed in a new tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea.-Biblical account:All four...
, flanked by saints on the inside of the side-panels. Above there is elaborate Gothic tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
with small figures of saints and angels. The whole of both works is either gilded or painted. The Altar of Saints and Martyrs is 159 cm high, and 252 cm wide with the wings open. For the Retable of the Crucifixion the equivalent figures are 167 cm and 252 cm.
The retables were transported to Dijon from Dendermonde in August 1391, but were returned to Flanders a year later. There, the painting and gilding was finished by Broederlam at his studio in Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
; guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
regulations usually mandated that the carving and painting or guilding were performed by members of different guilds. They were returned to Champmol, approved by a committee including Claus Sluter
Claus Sluter
Claus Sluter was a sculptor of Dutch origin. He was the most important northern European sculptor of his age and is considered a pioneer of the "northern realism" of the Early Netherlandish painting that came into full flower with the work of Jan van Eyck and others in the next generation.Sluter...
, and installed by the end of 1399, after which de Baerze disappears from documented records.
The altarpieces were moved after the French Revolution to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon
The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon is a museum of fine arts opened in 1787 in Dijon, France. It is housed in the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy in the historic center of Dijon.- Artworks :The Musée include a large and varied collection of art:...
, along with the Broederlam panels, which now, unlike at the time of their creation, receive more attention than the carvings, as they are of great significance in the development of Early Netherlandish painting
Early Netherlandish painting
Early Netherlandish painting refers to the work of artists active in the Low Countries during the 15th- and early 16th-century Northern renaissance, especially in the flourishing Burgundian cities of Bruges and Ghent...
, and painting is generally of greater interest to modern art historians than sculpture. De Baerze's two retables are probably the earliest Netherlandish examples to survive complete, although there were evidently many more such works in existence by this date, and the form probably developed first in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
. With hardly any works from the period to compare to those in Dijon, it is hard to assess the originality of de Baerze, or his place in the tradition, though he clearly participates in the International Gothic
International Gothic
International Gothic is a phase of Gothic art which developed in Burgundy, Bohemia, France and northern Italy in the late 14th century and early 15th century...
style of the period. Presumably most of his work was for local churches and religious houses. In fact the iconoclasm
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
after the Reformation was so destructive of Netherlandish wood-carved altars that only a few fragments survive there from the following eighty years, while Germany has many examples.
Other smaller carvings attributed to de Baerze survive, including the 28 cm high figure from an altar crucifix which formed part of the Champmol commission, now in the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, and a St George in the Mimara Museum
Mimara Museum
The Mimara Museum is an art museum in the city of Zagreb, Croatia. It is situated at the Roosevelt Square, housing the collection by Wiltrud and Ante Topić Mimara...
in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
.