Portrait of a Carthusian
Encyclopedia
Portrait of a Carthusian is a painting in oils on oak panel
by the Early Netherlandish painter Petrus Christus
in 1446. The work is part of the Jules Bache
Collection housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York City. It is regarded as a masterpiece of Early Netherlandish painting
and a prominent, early example of Trompe l’oeil.
monk captured in mid-turn, gazing directly at the viewer. Because the monk’s body is turned to the right, he must look over his left shoulder to gaze at the viewer, creating a somewhat cumbersome diagonal pose. Petrus Christus
balances this out by shifting the axis of the monk’s face to the right, placing him just off center. By further modeling the monk’s right shoulder more than his left shoulder, Christus draws one side of the body closer to the viewer, adding more depth to the work. The proportions of the monk’s face have also been exaggerated; the nose and eyes having been purposefully elongated. The overall effect is something of an exaggerated silhouette, a compositional technique not often found in Early Netherlandish Painting
.
is also noteworthy. The Monk is bathed in intense light, setting his figure dramatically against the space that he occupies. While this strong, raking light is typical of contemporaries like Jan van Eyck
, Christus’ addition of a second, opposing lighting source behind the monk marks this portrait as distinctive. The light on the left seems to be a reflection from within the room, yet the light bathing the monk seems to be coming from an external source, perhaps an unseen window. The result is that light comes from both in and outside the pictorial space, with the monk (particularly along the hood of his cloak) being the meeting point of the two. The monk is therefore framed by two lighting structure, allowing Christus to employ a much fuller and richer spectrum of colors and shading than a single-source lighting structure would. This complex lighting scheme is the reason Portrait of a Carthusian appears fully 3-dimensional and realistic.
, etc. Art historian believes that a fly was used to evoke such images in connection with Satan
’s moniker Beezelbub - The Lord of the Flies. More recently, art historians are beginning to view the inclusion of Trompe l’oeil flies as a professional calling card, with art historian Felix Thülemann describing it as “a selfconscious representation of superior painterly prowess. It is believed that this is why the fly generally appears next to the artist’s signature (the fly’s position right next to ‘Petrus Xdi Me Fecit’ hinting that the fly might be the referent of ‘me’ and therefore the creator of the work.)
Portrait of a Carthusian featured a halo
above the monk’s head when it was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in 1944. However, halos are extremely rare in Early Netherlandish painting
and Portrait of a Carthusian’s has long been an object of speculation. Finally in 1994, in preparation for the Met’s exhibition Petrus Christus: Renaissance Master of Bruges, the authenticity of halo was publicly examined by a panel of Early Netherlandish specialists and determined to be an addition. The team generally agreed that halo was probably added in Spain in the 17th century – imitating an Italian trend - where it became part of the collection of Don Ramon de Oms, viceroy of Majorca, who sold the work to American industrialist Jules Bache
in 1911. The team recommended that the halo be removed to make the painting more aesthetically authentic. Christus was one of the first Netherlandish painters to really play with the illusion of space and light. The addition of the halo, though, forced the viewer to look at the foreground and therefore framed the space in a way Christus never intended. Since the removal the halo, the Met has gone on to delete other dubious halos from Christus works, most notably in Portrait of a Goldsmith.
Panel painting
A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel made of wood, either a single piece, or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, it was the normal form of support for a painting not on a wall or vellum, which was used for...
by the Early Netherlandish painter Petrus Christus
Petrus Christus
Petrus Christus was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges from 1444.-Life:Christus was born in Baarle, near Antwerp and Breda. Long considered a student of and successor to Jan van Eyck, his paintings have sometimes been confused with those of Van Eyck. At the death of Van Eyck in 1441,...
in 1446. The work is part of the Jules Bache
Jules Bache
Jules Semon Bache was a German-born American banker, art collector and philanthropist.-Biography:Born in Germany, as a young boy his family emigrated to the United States, settling in New York City. In 1881, he started work as a cashier at Leopold Cahn & Co., a stockbrokerage firm founded by his...
Collection housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York City. It is regarded as a masterpiece 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 a prominent, early example of Trompe l’oeil.
The monk
Portrait of a Carthusian depicts a three-quarter portrait of anonymous CarthusianCarthusian
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...
monk captured in mid-turn, gazing directly at the viewer. Because the monk’s body is turned to the right, he must look over his left shoulder to gaze at the viewer, creating a somewhat cumbersome diagonal pose. Petrus Christus
Petrus Christus
Petrus Christus was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges from 1444.-Life:Christus was born in Baarle, near Antwerp and Breda. Long considered a student of and successor to Jan van Eyck, his paintings have sometimes been confused with those of Van Eyck. At the death of Van Eyck in 1441,...
balances this out by shifting the axis of the monk’s face to the right, placing him just off center. By further modeling the monk’s right shoulder more than his left shoulder, Christus draws one side of the body closer to the viewer, adding more depth to the work. The proportions of the monk’s face have also been exaggerated; the nose and eyes having been purposefully elongated. The overall effect is something of an exaggerated silhouette, a compositional technique not often found in 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...
.
Space and lighting
The lighting scheme employed by Petrus ChristusPetrus Christus
Petrus Christus was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges from 1444.-Life:Christus was born in Baarle, near Antwerp and Breda. Long considered a student of and successor to Jan van Eyck, his paintings have sometimes been confused with those of Van Eyck. At the death of Van Eyck in 1441,...
is also noteworthy. The Monk is bathed in intense light, setting his figure dramatically against the space that he occupies. While this strong, raking light is typical of contemporaries like Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....
, Christus’ addition of a second, opposing lighting source behind the monk marks this portrait as distinctive. The light on the left seems to be a reflection from within the room, yet the light bathing the monk seems to be coming from an external source, perhaps an unseen window. The result is that light comes from both in and outside the pictorial space, with the monk (particularly along the hood of his cloak) being the meeting point of the two. The monk is therefore framed by two lighting structure, allowing Christus to employ a much fuller and richer spectrum of colors and shading than a single-source lighting structure would. This complex lighting scheme is the reason Portrait of a Carthusian appears fully 3-dimensional and realistic.
The fly and "trompe l’oeil"
Portrait of a Carthusian sports a Trompe l’oeil fly on its lower right-hand corner. The addition of Trompe l’oeil flies to works of art is believed to have begun in the 15th century, right as Christus became active. Art Historians are generally split between two different interpretations of their use. Many art historians believe the fly to hold religious symbolism, functions as connotations of sin, corruption, mortalityDeath
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, etc. Art historian believes that a fly was used to evoke such images in connection with Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
’s moniker Beezelbub - The Lord of the Flies. More recently, art historians are beginning to view the inclusion of Trompe l’oeil flies as a professional calling card, with art historian Felix Thülemann describing it as “a selfconscious representation of superior painterly prowess. It is believed that this is why the fly generally appears next to the artist’s signature (the fly’s position right next to ‘Petrus Xdi Me Fecit’ hinting that the fly might be the referent of ‘me’ and therefore the creator of the work.)
Halo and 1994 restoration
Halo (religious iconography)
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
above the monk’s head when it was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in 1944. However, halos are extremely rare in 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 Portrait of a Carthusian’s has long been an object of speculation. Finally in 1994, in preparation for the Met’s exhibition Petrus Christus: Renaissance Master of Bruges, the authenticity of halo was publicly examined by a panel of Early Netherlandish specialists and determined to be an addition. The team generally agreed that halo was probably added in Spain in the 17th century – imitating an Italian trend - where it became part of the collection of Don Ramon de Oms, viceroy of Majorca, who sold the work to American industrialist Jules Bache
Jules Bache
Jules Semon Bache was a German-born American banker, art collector and philanthropist.-Biography:Born in Germany, as a young boy his family emigrated to the United States, settling in New York City. In 1881, he started work as a cashier at Leopold Cahn & Co., a stockbrokerage firm founded by his...
in 1911. The team recommended that the halo be removed to make the painting more aesthetically authentic. Christus was one of the first Netherlandish painters to really play with the illusion of space and light. The addition of the halo, though, forced the viewer to look at the foreground and therefore framed the space in a way Christus never intended. Since the removal the halo, the Met has gone on to delete other dubious halos from Christus works, most notably in Portrait of a Goldsmith.
Further reading
- Upton, Joel. “Petrus Christus: His Place in Fifteenth-Century Flemish Painting”. The Pennsylvania State University Press – University Park. 1990.
- Ainsworth, Maryan W., ed. Petrus Christus in Renaissance Bruges: An Interdisciplinary Approach. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995.
- Ainsworth, Maryan W., ed. Intentional Alterations of Early Netherlandish Painting. April 20, 2009. .
- Connor, Steven. "Flysight". April 15, 2009. http://www.bbk.ac.uk/english/skc/flysight/
- "Deception and Illusion: Five Centuries of Trompe L'Oeil Painting." April 15, 2009.
- "Review: Petrus Christus. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art" The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 136, No. 1098 (Sep., 1994), pp. 639–641