DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.71791#0040
JAN VAN EYCK (?). (Born, probably, about 1390. He was at Bruges in 1425, from
May to August ; and again from 1430 until his death on 9th July, 1440.)
7 The Consecration of Thomas a Becket as Archbishop of
Canterbury.
Under an oval canopy, on the edges of which the papal device and
the arms of the See of Canterbury are emblazoned, two bishops place the
mitre on the head of the Primate, who reads the mass of consecration
from a book held by a kneeling priest A third bishop, a king and many
other figures stand about the principal group. The scene is in a Cathedral,
one archway of which enframes the picture. The figures are relieved against
a green cloth, a modern repaint, which hangs behind the canopy. On the
frame-moulding of the panel appears the following inscription:—
_n__n_ 0 _n_ o
JOHES . DE EYCK . FECIT +ANO . MCCCC . ZI 30 OCTOBRIS.
Accepting this inscription, the picture becomes the earliest known work by
Jan Van Eyck. It is much, and coarsely, repainted, however, and various
details militate against the acceptance of its alleged authorship. The arch
in which the whole scene is enframed, and on the plinth of which the
inscription is painted in feigned intaglio, is of a style not thus developed
till more than a century after Van Eyck's death. The king on the left is
clearly Henry VII., who did not come to the throne until 1485. In the
present condition of the panel a discussion of its true authorship cannot
well be profitable.
Panel. Size 50 by 30 inches.
Plate II. Ze/zZ by the Duke of Devonshire.
ANTONELLO DA MESSINA. (Date of birth unknown, but may have been
very early in the 15th century. The earliest date on any work of his is
1465, on the Ecce Homo in the National collection ; the latest is 1478.)
7a S. Jerome in his Study.
" Through a depressed archway, on the step of which are a quail, a
peacock, and a brass basin, is seen the interior of a lofty vaulted cruciform
building of stone. The central bay, or transept, of this interior is occupied
by a wooden dais, or platform, reached by a narrow flight of three steps.
Here is seated the Saint in a deep chair, with a rounded open-work back, at
a table ending in a reading desk. He wears a large red skull cap and a long
tight-sleeved linen rochet, and over it the usual cardinal's red mantle-
cappa magna; the hood, falling over his shoulders, is lined with brown fur.
He is about to turn over the leaf of a folio manuscript lying open on the
desk before him. On the table are an inkstand with a pen and two books;
on the shelves, at the back of both table and platform, are more books, some
May to August ; and again from 1430 until his death on 9th July, 1440.)
7 The Consecration of Thomas a Becket as Archbishop of
Canterbury.
Under an oval canopy, on the edges of which the papal device and
the arms of the See of Canterbury are emblazoned, two bishops place the
mitre on the head of the Primate, who reads the mass of consecration
from a book held by a kneeling priest A third bishop, a king and many
other figures stand about the principal group. The scene is in a Cathedral,
one archway of which enframes the picture. The figures are relieved against
a green cloth, a modern repaint, which hangs behind the canopy. On the
frame-moulding of the panel appears the following inscription:—
_n__n_ 0 _n_ o
JOHES . DE EYCK . FECIT +ANO . MCCCC . ZI 30 OCTOBRIS.
Accepting this inscription, the picture becomes the earliest known work by
Jan Van Eyck. It is much, and coarsely, repainted, however, and various
details militate against the acceptance of its alleged authorship. The arch
in which the whole scene is enframed, and on the plinth of which the
inscription is painted in feigned intaglio, is of a style not thus developed
till more than a century after Van Eyck's death. The king on the left is
clearly Henry VII., who did not come to the throne until 1485. In the
present condition of the panel a discussion of its true authorship cannot
well be profitable.
Panel. Size 50 by 30 inches.
Plate II. Ze/zZ by the Duke of Devonshire.
ANTONELLO DA MESSINA. (Date of birth unknown, but may have been
very early in the 15th century. The earliest date on any work of his is
1465, on the Ecce Homo in the National collection ; the latest is 1478.)
7a S. Jerome in his Study.
" Through a depressed archway, on the step of which are a quail, a
peacock, and a brass basin, is seen the interior of a lofty vaulted cruciform
building of stone. The central bay, or transept, of this interior is occupied
by a wooden dais, or platform, reached by a narrow flight of three steps.
Here is seated the Saint in a deep chair, with a rounded open-work back, at
a table ending in a reading desk. He wears a large red skull cap and a long
tight-sleeved linen rochet, and over it the usual cardinal's red mantle-
cappa magna; the hood, falling over his shoulders, is lined with brown fur.
He is about to turn over the leaf of a folio manuscript lying open on the
desk before him. On the table are an inkstand with a pen and two books;
on the shelves, at the back of both table and platform, are more books, some