Simon Bening ( – 1561) was a Flemish miniaturist, generally regarded as the last major artist of the

Netherlandish The Low Countries comprise the coastal Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta region in Western Europe, whose definition usually includes the modern countries of Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of Northern France. Both Belgium and the ...

tradition. Bening, born either in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, was probably trained by his father, illuminator Alexander Bening, in the family workshop in Ghent. He travelled between Ghent and

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

and became a member of the

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

of San John and Saint Luke in Bruges as an illuminator in 1508. He made his own name after moving to Bruges in about 1510, where he had lived since. From 1517 to 1555 he is listed regularly in the guild's annual accounts. Bening served as a dean of the calligraphers, booksellers, illuminators and bookbinders in the Guild of Saint John and Saint Luke three separate times (1524, 1536, 1546). He was married twice and had six daughters. Two of them continued the family artistic tradition: Levina Teerlinc became a miniature painter, mostly of

portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...

s, and emigrated to England, and Alexandrine Claeiszuene became a successful art dealer.

Works

Bening specialised in Books of Hours, but by his time these were produced only for royal or very rich patrons. He also created genealogical tables and portable altarpieces on

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

as well as oil paintings on wooden panels. He was known to extend miniature painting into the borders. His usage of illusionistic picture frames serve to function as small devotional panels. Many of his finest works are

Labours of the Months The term Labours of the Months refers to cycles in Medieval art, Medieval and early Renaissance art depicting in twelve scenes the rural activities that commonly took place in the months of the year. They are often linked to the signs of the Z ...

for Books of Hours which are largely small-scale

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

s, at that time a nascent genre of painting. In other respects his style is relatively little developed beyond that of the years before his birth, but his landscapes serve as a link between the 15th-century illuminators and

Pieter Brueghel the Elder Pieter Bruegel (also Brueghel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; – 9 September 1569) was among the most significant artists of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaking, printmaker, known for his landscape art, landscape ...

. His

self-portrait Self-portraits are Portrait painting, portraits artists make of themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century ...

and other portraits equally are early examples of the

. He produced books for German rulers, like Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, and royalty like

Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

and Don Fernando, the Infante of Portugal. Robert de Clercq, abbot of the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery of Ter Duinen ("Les Dunes") at

Koksijde Koksijde (; ; ) is a town and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in Belgium. It is located on the North Sea coast in the southwest of the Flanders, Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises apart from Koksijde, the v ...

, near Bruges, commissioned a Benedictional from him sometime between 1519 and 1529. Bening portrayed the abbot in a colourful

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

scene. Bening’s usage of illusionism, pictorial narrative and creative adaptation demonstrates his influence from the leading illuminators, printmakers and painters of his near contemporaries such as

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 ...

Mary of Burgundy Mary of Burgundy (; ; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled the Burgundian lands, comprising the Duchy of Burgundy, Duchy and Free County of Burgundy, County of Burgundy a ...

Martin Schongauer Martin Schongauer (c. 1450–53, Colmar – 2 February 1491, Breisach), also known as Martin Schön ("Martin beautiful") or Hübsch Martin ("pretty Martin") by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter. He was the most important ...

Gerard David Gerard David ( – 13 August 1523) was an Early Netherlandish painter and manuscript illuminator known for his brilliant use of color. Only a bare outline of his life survives, although some facts are known. He may have been the Meester ghera ...

, and

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

Selected works

* Munich-Montserrat Book of Hours *Codex of the Order of the Golden Fleece, Patrimonio Nacional, Spain.

Gallery

File:Benedictional of Robert de Clercq.jpg, Benedictional of Robert de Clercq:

, f. 4v,

Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of over 100 libraries Libraries of the University of Cambridge, within the university. The library is a major scholarly resource for me ...

, Cambridge File:Simon Bening Decorated text Page.jpg, Prayer Book of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg: text page with decorated borders, f 124, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles File:Simon Bening (Flemish - The Arrest of Christ - Google Art Project.jpg, Prayer Book of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg: The Arrest of Christ, f 107v, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles File:September- Four men playing a game that resembles golf - The Golf Book (1520-1530), f.27r - BL Add MS 24098.jpg, Four men playing a game that resembles golf. The Golf book, British Library File:Breviarium Grimani - February.jpg, February, Breviarium Grimaldi (1515–1520), Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice (Italy) File:Simon Bening - April.jpg, Labors of the Months: April, from a

book of hours A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

File:Simon Bening - Mai.jpg, Labors of the Months: May File:Simon Bening - Juni.jpg, Labors of the Months: June File:Simon Bening (Flemish - Christ before Caiaphas - Google Art Project.jpg,

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

before

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD) was the High Priest of Israel during the first century. In the New Testament, the Gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John indicate he was an organizer of ...

File:Simon Bening Virgin and Child.jpg,

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

and

Child A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

File:Felipe II con el manto de la Orden del Toisón de Oro (Libro del Toisón de Oro).jpg, Phillip II as The grand master of the order. Codex of the Golden Fleece Order 1536. Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. File:Tríptico de san Jerónimo Simon Bening.jpg, ''Tripthyc of St. Jerome'', tempera on parchment adhered to panel. Monastery of El Escorial,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. File:Simon Bening The Annunciation to the Shepherds.jpg, The Annunciation to the Shepherds File:Simon Bening - Virgo inter Virgines.jpg, Virgin amongst virgins ( Virgo inter virgines) File:Simon Bening - Saint Gertrude.jpg, Saint

Gertrude of Nivelles Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB (also spelled ''Geretrude'', ''Geretrudis'', ''Gertrud''; c. 628 – 17 March 659) was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium. She is venerated in the Catholic ...

File:Simon Bening (Flemish - The Annunciation - Google Art Project.jpg, The

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

File:Manuscript Leaf with Adoration of the Holy Name, from a Book of Hours MET temp272481.jpg, Manuscript Leaf with Adoration of the

Holy Name In Catholicism, the veneration of the Holy Name of Jesus (also ''Most Holy Name of Jesus'', ) developed as a separate type of devotion in the early modern period, in parallel to that of the '' Sacred Heart''. The ''Litany of the Holy Name'' is ...

, from a

Book of Hours A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

References

Sources

*Hindman, Sandra et al. ''Illuminations in the Robert Lehman Collection''. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. *Morrison, Elizabeth and Kren, Thomas (eds). ''Flemish Manuscript Painting in Context''. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust, 2006.

External links

*
''Gerard David: Purity of Vision in an Age of Transition''
exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF)
The Hennessy Book of Hours
c. 1530–1540
The Golf Book
c. 1540
Book of Hours
c. 1525, from the collection at Waddesdon Manor
Grimani Breviary: a Remarkable Artistic Collaboration between Simon Bening and Other Artists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bening, Simon 1480s births 1561 deaths Flemish Renaissance painters Manuscript illuminators 16th-century Flemish painters