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The donors Korsgen Elbertzen, his sons Dirck and Albert on left half, with female donors on the right by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen

The donors Korsgen Elbertzen, his sons Dirck and Albert on left half, with female donors on the right

Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen·1509

Historical Context

Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (c.1470-1533) was the leading painter in Amsterdam in the first decades of the sixteenth century, a period when the city was growing rapidly as a commercial center while remaining at the margins of the major artistic developments centered further south in the Netherlands. This donor panel, depicting Korsgen Elbertzen with his sons on one wing and female donors on the other, belongs to the triptych tradition in which wealthy patrons commissioned altarpieces for parish churches or private chapels, securing both spiritual benefit and public commemoration. Van Oostsanen's work represents the Amsterdam adaptation of the Antwerp and Brussels painting traditions, with a distinctive local character in figure type and color.

Technical Analysis

Van Oostsanen's donor portraits maintain the Flemish tradition of detailed individual characterization — each face a specific likeness rather than a generic devotional type — while his handling of landscape glimpsed through the donor-wing openings reflects the Northern Renaissance integration of accurate natural detail with symbolic landscape meaning.

See It In Person

Bode Museum

Berlin, Germany

Visit museum website →

Quick Facts

Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
90 × 58 cm
Era
High Renaissance
Style
Northern Renaissance
Genre
Religious
Location
Bode Museum, Berlin
View on museum website →

More by Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen

The Adoration of the Christ Child by Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen

The Adoration of the Christ Child

Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen·c. 1515

The Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist by Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen

The Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist

Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen·c. 1520

The Adoration of the Magi by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen

The Adoration of the Magi

Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen·1517

The Crucifixion by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen

The Crucifixion

Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen·1508

More from the High Renaissance Period

Head of Saint John the Baptist on a Charger by Aelbert Bouts

Head of Saint John the Baptist on a Charger

Aelbert Bouts·ca. 1500

Lucrezia di Lippo di Iacopo Guidi by Andrea del Sarto

Lucrezia di Lippo di Iacopo Guidi

Andrea del Sarto·1525–28

Domenico da Gambassi by Andrea del Sarto

Domenico da Gambassi

Andrea del Sarto·1525–28

Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist by Antonio da Correggio

Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist

Antonio da Correggio·c. 1515