''Early Netherlandish Painting'' () is a pioneering 14-volume series of illustrated books by the German art historian

Max Jakob Friedländer Max Jakob Friedländer (5 July 1867 in Berlin – 11 October 1958 in Amsterdam) was a German-Jewish museum curator and art historian. He was a specialist in Early Netherlandish painting and the Northern Renaissance, who volunteered at the Kupfers ...

(1867–1958). The first volume was published in 1924, and the series ran until 1937. It was the first comprehensive modern art-historical survey of

Early Netherlandish painting Early Netherlandish painting is the body of work by artists active in the Burgundian Netherlands, Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period, once known as the Flemish Primitives. It flour ...

,The painters are sometimes known as the Flemish Primitives. a term often used in art history to describe artists of the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

during the 15th- and 16th-century

Northern Renaissance The Northern Renaissance was the Renaissance that occurred in Europe north of the Alps, developing later than the Italian Renaissance, and in most respects only beginning in the last years of the 15th century. It took different forms in the vari ...

. Friedländer developed an interest in northern art of the period while director of the

Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum The Bode Museum (), formerly called the Emperor Frederick Museum (), is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1898 to 1904 by order of German Emperor William II according to plans by Ernst v ...

in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The collection included a large selection of Flemish paintings, including

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( ; ; – 9 July 1441) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Nort ...

's '' Madonna in the Church'',

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden (; 1399 or 140018 June 1464), initially known as Roger de le Pasture (), was an Early Netherlandish painting, early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commis ...

's ''

Miraflores Altarpiece ''The Miraflores Altarpiece'' (or ''Triptych of the Virgin'', or ''The Altar of Our Lady'' or the ''Mary Altarpiece'') is a c. 1442-5 oil-on-oak wood panel painting, panel altarpiece by the Early Netherlandish painting, Early Netherlandish paint ...

'' and '' Saint John Altarpiece'', and

Hugo van der Goes Hugo van der Goes ( – 1482) was a Flemish painter who was one of the most significant and original Early Netherlandish painters of the late 15th century. Van der Goes was an important painter of altarpieces as well as portraits. He introduced i ...

's ''

Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings or Visitation of the Wise Men is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having fo ...

''. Friedländer was struck by the lack of biographical detail on even the most accomplished of the artists, some of whom were still identified by

notname In art history, a (, "name of necessity" or "contingency name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled or generically titled works a ...

s, the sometimes poorly supported attributions, and general historical neglect.McNamee (1998), vii The book focuses on establishing biographical details for the painters, attributing individual works, and detailing their major stylistic themes and techniques. The undertaking was extremely difficult, given the scant historical record of even the most significant artists.Silver (1986), 518 The series was a major influence on

Erwin Panofsky Erwin Panofsky (March 30, 1892 – March 14, 1968) was a German-Jewish art historian whose work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography, including his hugely influential ''Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art ...

's equally seminal ''

Early Netherlandish Painting Early Netherlandish painting is the body of work by artists active in the Burgundian Netherlands, Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period, once known as the Flemish Primitives. It flour ...

'', which expanded on Friedländer's biographical and stylistic analysis to focus on

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

and historical context.

References

Notes

Sources

* McNamee, Maurice. ''Vested Angels: Eucharistic Allusions in Early Netherlandish Paintings''. Peeters Publishers, 1998. * Silver, Larry. "The State of Research in Northern European Art of the Renaissance Era". ''

The Art Bulletin The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understan ...

'', Volume 68, No. 4, 1986 {{refend

External links

All 14 volumes online or for free download
Art history books

Friedländer Friedländer (Friedlander, or Friedlaender) is a toponymic surname derived from any of German places named Friedland (disambiguation), Friedland. The surname may refer to: People Friedländer * Adolf Albrecht Friedländer (1870–1949), Aust ...