Pentecost
Bernard van Orley·c. 1520
Historical Context
This Pentecost from the workshop of Bernard van Orley was painted around 1520, reflecting the ambitious religious painting produced in Brussels during the early sixteenth century. Van Orley was the leading painter in Brussels and court artist to Margaret of Austria, regent of the Netherlands. His workshop combined Netherlandish tradition with the Italian Renaissance influences he absorbed, particularly from Raphael's tapestry cartoons which he helped to weave.
Technical Analysis
The oil on panel demonstrates the Brussels workshop's characteristic blend of Netherlandish detail with Italianate grandeur in the figure composition. The dramatic lighting of the Pentecostal fire and the expressive reactions of the apostles show Van Orley's ambition to match Italian history painting in scale and emotional power.
Provenance
Probably Archbishop’s House, Diocese of Westminster, London, until 1971 [according to Julius Weitzner’s invoice, it came from the collection of Cardinal Heenan, Archbishop of Westminster from 1963. Father Ian Dickie, archivist of the Diocese of Westminster, suggested that the painting was part of a group of objects from “the patrimony of Archbishop’s House” sold to raise funds for charity and that it might have been given to Archbishop’s House at the time of its completion in 1903; letter of November 12, 2003, in curatorial file]; offered for sale, through John Myers as agent, Sotheby’s London, March 24, 1971, no. 59, as Netherlandish School, withdrawn [according to an e-mail from George Gordon, Sotheby’s; October 24, 2003, and letter of November 23, 2003]. Julius H. Weitzner, Inc., London, 1972; sold to the Art Institute, December 1972.
See It In Person
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The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist
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The Birth and Naming of Saint John the Baptist; (reverse) Trompe-l'oeil with Painting of The Man of Sorrows
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Christ among the Doctors [obverse]
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![Putto with Arms of Jacques Coëne [reverse] by Bernard van Orley](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Putto_with_Arms_of_Jacques_Co%C3%ABne_A14343.jpg&width=600)
Putto with Arms of Jacques Coëne [reverse]
Bernard van Orley·c. 1513
