Hulin de Loo, Georges: Early Flemish paintings in the Renders Collection at Bruges: exhibited at the Belgian Exhibition, Burlington House, January 1927 (London, 1927)

ROGIER VAN DER WEYDEN. # VIRGIN AND CHILD
X WING OF THE DIPTYCH OF JEHAN GROS. t-1-
i$ Oak{ panel : 37 centimeters high by 27 centimeters wide. $S
IT was Mr. Hulin de Loo who first had the idea of
comparing certain heads of the Virgin and Child painted by
Van der Weyden, on the one hand, and certain men’s portraits
by the same artist (Philip de Croy — Laurent Froimont — Jehan
Gros) on the other hand, all three shown half length, with
folded hands in the attitude of prayer. These works, however,
are now all dispersed in different collections. The learned
professor has succeeded in restoring the diptychs to their former
unity, as is shown in his substantial critical studies, published
in the Burlington, and of which we can only summarise the
principal passages — but we call attention to their great interest.
The Virgin and Child in Mr. Renders’ collection formed
the right wing (on the spectator’s left) of a diptych of which
the other part consisted of the portrait of Jehan Gros, now in
the collection of Mr. Ryerson at Chicago. The concordance
between the two wings is easily proved in this case by
similarity of measurements, conformity of pose and grouping
recurring in the holy personages and in the model, also
still more precisely, by the well known motto of the Gros
family « Graces a Dieu », painted on the back of our panel