DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68073#0185
FLEMISH PAINTING
i59
diteval artists, while Bruges, Tournay, Arras, Ypres, Ghent, and
Dinant held a welcome for any able craftsman or artist, who, driven
from England, France, or Italy by the civil wars, sought refuge and
work.
And there was plenty of work to be done I
Artistic designs of all kinds were needed for tapestry-workers, for
the goldsmiths and silversmiths, for the furniture-makers, and for
craftsmen busy in making articles for household use or for personal
decoration. Moreover, for the great entertainments, such as weddings,
receptions of princes, or celebrations in honor of the Knights of the
Golden Fleece, and other important functions, a veritable army of
painters, sculptors, illuminators, carvers, and machinists was needed
to design, plan, and execute the entremets exhibited during the ban-
quets and the grand decorations erected in the streets through which
the processions passed.
We shall gain a better idea of the spirit of early Flemish Art if we
pause for a moment to look into the palace at Lille, in 1454, when
Philip the Good was celebrating the “Feast of the Pheasant.” The
large hall was hung with tapestry representing the Labors of Hercules.
The dressoir of enormous size was adorned with magnificent gold and
silver vessels and there were three large tables, splendidly laden with
viands artistically decorated. One of the guests wrote: “On a raised
platform at the head of the first table sat the Duke. He was arrayed
in his accustomed splendor—his dress of black velvet serving as a dark
ground that heightened the brilliancy of the precious stones, valued at
a million of gold crowns, with which it was profusely decked. Among
the guests was a numerous body of knights, who had passed the morn-
ing in the tilting-field, and fair Flemish ladies, whose flaunting beauty
had inspired these martial sports. Each course was composed of
forty-four dishes, which were placed on chariots painted in gold and
azure and which were moved along the tables by concealed machinery.
As soon as the company was seated, the bells began to peal from the
steeple of a huge pastry church with stained windows that concealed
an organ and choir of singers; and three little choristers issued from
the edifice and sang a very sweet chanson. Twenty-eight musicians,
i59
diteval artists, while Bruges, Tournay, Arras, Ypres, Ghent, and
Dinant held a welcome for any able craftsman or artist, who, driven
from England, France, or Italy by the civil wars, sought refuge and
work.
And there was plenty of work to be done I
Artistic designs of all kinds were needed for tapestry-workers, for
the goldsmiths and silversmiths, for the furniture-makers, and for
craftsmen busy in making articles for household use or for personal
decoration. Moreover, for the great entertainments, such as weddings,
receptions of princes, or celebrations in honor of the Knights of the
Golden Fleece, and other important functions, a veritable army of
painters, sculptors, illuminators, carvers, and machinists was needed
to design, plan, and execute the entremets exhibited during the ban-
quets and the grand decorations erected in the streets through which
the processions passed.
We shall gain a better idea of the spirit of early Flemish Art if we
pause for a moment to look into the palace at Lille, in 1454, when
Philip the Good was celebrating the “Feast of the Pheasant.” The
large hall was hung with tapestry representing the Labors of Hercules.
The dressoir of enormous size was adorned with magnificent gold and
silver vessels and there were three large tables, splendidly laden with
viands artistically decorated. One of the guests wrote: “On a raised
platform at the head of the first table sat the Duke. He was arrayed
in his accustomed splendor—his dress of black velvet serving as a dark
ground that heightened the brilliancy of the precious stones, valued at
a million of gold crowns, with which it was profusely decked. Among
the guests was a numerous body of knights, who had passed the morn-
ing in the tilting-field, and fair Flemish ladies, whose flaunting beauty
had inspired these martial sports. Each course was composed of
forty-four dishes, which were placed on chariots painted in gold and
azure and which were moved along the tables by concealed machinery.
As soon as the company was seated, the bells began to peal from the
steeple of a huge pastry church with stained windows that concealed
an organ and choir of singers; and three little choristers issued from
the edifice and sang a very sweet chanson. Twenty-eight musicians,