Rieke van der Stoep,1953 | Figurative sculptor

"Art is a way of communicating, in which the subconscious can be transformed to conscious.

Our inner self is our reality" - Rieke van der Stoep.

Rieke van der Stoep brings her inner self outward and reflects this in her statues.

During the past 20 years, Rieke has mainly made female bronze sculptures.

In her work, she shows how the inner being relates to ourselves, others and the world around us.

Her figures are in motion or taking a next step, diligently exploring, reaching, searching, balancing and philosophising about life.

Jan van Eyck (1395-1441) | Renaissance painter

Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter🎨 active in Bruges. He is one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art.

The surviving records of his early life indicate that he was born around 1380-1390, most likely in Maaseik (then Maaseyck, hence his name), in present-day Belgium.

Jan Gossaert | Renaissance painter

Jan Gossart, also called Jan Gossaert or Jan Mabuse, (born c. 1478, Maubeuge?, France - died October 1, 1532, Antwerp?), Netherlandish painter who was one of the first artists to introduce the style of the Italian Renaissance🎨 into the Low Countries.

Gossart is most likely to be identified with Jennyn van Hennegouwe, who is registered as a master in the Guild of St. Luke at Antwerp in 1503.

His most important early work extant is the Adoration of the Kings, which is painted in the ornate style of the Antwerp school. Other early works, such as Jesus, the Virgin, and the Baptist, reflect his interest in the works of Jan van Eyck and Albrecht Dürer🎨. Another early work, famous for its sense of mood, is the Agony in the Garden.

Juan de Flandes | Northern Renaissance painter

Juan de Flandes (John of Flanders, c. 1460 - 1519) was an Early Netherlandish painter who was active in Spain from 1496-1519; his actual name is unknown, although an inscription Juan Astrat on the back of one work suggests a name such as "Jan van der Straat". Jan Sallaert, who became a master in Ghent in 1480, has also been suggested.

Hans Memling | Northern Renaissance painter

Hans Memling, Memling also spelled Memlinc, (born c. 1430-40, Seligenstadt, near Frankfurt am Main [Germany] - died August 11, 1494, Bruges [Belgium]), leading South Netherlandish painter of the Bruges school during the period of the city’s political and commercial decline.

The number of his imitators and followers testifies to his popularity throughout Flanders.

His last commission, which has been widely copied, is a Crucifixion panel from the Passion triptych (1491).

Memling, born in the region of the Middle Rhine, was apparently first schooled in the art of Cologne and then traveled to the Netherlands (c. 1455-60), where he probably trained in the workshop of the painter Rogier van der Weyden.

He settled in Bruges (Brugge) in 1465; there he established a large shop and executed numerous altarpieces and portraits. Indeed, he was very successful in Bruges: it is known that he owned a large stone house and by 1480 was listed among the wealthiest citizens on the city tax accounts.

Sometime between 1470-1480 Memling married Anna de Valkenaere (died 1487), with whom he had three children.

Robert Campin | Northern Renaissance painter

Robert Campin, (born c. 1378, Tournai, France - died April 26, 1444, Tournai), one of the earliest and greatest masters of Flemish painting. He has been identified with the Master of Flémalle on stylistic and other grounds.

Characterized by a naturalistic conception of form and a poetic representation of the objects of daily life, Campin’s work marks a break with the prevailing International Gothic style and prefigures the achievements of Jan van Eyck and the painters of the Northern Renaissance.

Documents show that Campin was established as a master painter in Tournai in 1406. Two pupils are mentioned as entering his studio in 1427 - Rogelet de la Pasture (generally identified with the great Rogier van der Weyden) and Jacques Daret.

Joachim Patinir | Northern Renaissance painter

Joachim Patinir, in full Joachim de Patinir, Patinir also spelled Patinier or Patenier, (born c. 1485, Bouvignes or Dinan, Namur, Belgium - died October 5, 1524, Antwerp), Flemish painter**, the first Western artist known to have specialized in landscape painting.

Little is known of his early life, but his work reflects an early knowledge of the painting of Gerard David**, the last of the Early Netherlandish painters. He may have studied under Hiëronymus Bosch**, the painter of fantastic allegories and landscapes.

Gerard David | Northern Renaissance painter

Gerard David (c. 1460 - 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 gheraet van brugghe who became a master of the Antwerp guild in 1515. He was very successful in his lifetime and probably ran two workshops, in Antwerp and Bruges.

Like many painters of his period, his reputation diminished in the 17th century until he was rediscovered in the 19th century.

Master of the Female Half-Lengths | Renaissance painter

The Master of the Female Half-Lengths*, active ca.1530-1540, was a Dutch* Northern Renaissance painter* or likely a group of painters of a workshop.

The name was given in the 19th century to identify the maker or makers of a body of work consisting of 67 paintings to which since 40 more have been added.

The works were apparently the product of a large workshop that specialized in small-scale panels depicting aristocratic young ladies at half-length.

Master of the Female Half-Lengths / Maestro delle mezze figure | Santa Caterina, 1530

Title: Saint Catherine

Author: Master of the Female Half-Lengths (1525-1550)

Date: 1530

Medium: Oil on panel

Dimensions: cm 45 x 36

Current location: Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan