The Flemish Primitives are credited with being the first to use oil paint on panels (a mixture called tempera was used before then) and for innovative techniques with oil paint. They created a realism and warmth with their works, with detail that offers a directness similar to photography.
In Van Eyck to Dürer, masterpieces by Jan Van Eyck, Hans Memling and Rogier van der Weyden, among others, are shown with work by artists from Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary and Bohemia. Works have travelled from across Europe and elsewhere, including altarpieces that were exported in the 15th century from Flanders to Germany, paintings by anonymous masters who clearly had access to early Netherlandish art, and pieces by Central and Eastern European artists who travelled to the Low Countries and incorporated elements of what they saw into their own work.
By juxtaposing works by artists of two different regions, the influences of the one upon the other clearly materialise, allowing visitors to see - and not just be told - that the Flemish Primitives did indeed trigger an artistic revolution. In addition, you can see the ripples of influence - from a Flemish Primitive to another artist, and from that artist to the next.
The scope of the exhibition is vast - there is almost an overwhelming number of altar panels, Madonna and Child paintings and crucifixion scenes. Yet curators have arranged the works well, each room having a clear theme.
Some focus on a place, such as Cologne - a trading centre and one of the largest cities in mediaeval Europe - others put a particular artist into the context of his time, such as Martin Schongauer of Germany (who was referred to in sources as "the beautiful Martin").
By breaking up the work in this way, the curators have managed to turn what could have been a confusing experience into one that is visitor friendly, entertaining and illuminating. Information placards (in Dutch, English, French and German) are also very helpful, highlighting one or two of the works in the room.
Arguably, the most influential of the Flemish Primitives was Rogier van der Weyden, and there is a section dedicated to his impact on others. Three of those are his Netherlandish contemporaries Dieric Bouts, Hugo van der Goes and Hans Memling, who, each in his own way, we're told, "transform Rogier's heritage". These artists in turn influenced those working in Central Europe.
In the case of Bouts, it was his composition and landscapes that travelled eastward, with his style being copied in numerous panels, particularly in Germany. Two of his most extraordinary pieces are the wings of a circa 1450 Last Judgment triptych, "Road to Paradise" and "Fall of the Damned".
The contrast of the titles is brought out strikingly: one is full of light, with pale-skinned women draped in white cloths, walking on soft green grass in the foreground, as figures ascend a hill towards heaven in the distance; the other is in dark tones, with tortured, skeletal figures falling from the sky, tumbling into the abyss, where cold stones and evil- looking creatures await.
The inspiration that Memling's portraits provided for painters such as Herman Rode of Lübeck is highlighted by having portraits by both men hanging next to each other. As for van der Goes, other influences on him included Van Eyck and Schongauer, and, appropriately, there are also Schongauer prints on display here, and next to them prints by the German Albrecht Dürer. The connections from one artist to the next and the reciprocal influences are almost endless.
Dürer, who was from Nuremberg, travelled to the Netherlands in 1520 when he was already a famous artist. During his stay, most of which was in Antwerp but also included visits to Bruges, Brussels and Ghent, he became interested in early Netherlandish art and met painters, including Jan Provoost.
One beautiful oil painting by Dürer on display is "Saint Jerome", which depicts the wizened face of an old man with a long white beard sitting at his desk with a finger resting on a skull. Though named after the fifth-century priest and academic, the figure is based on an old man Dürer met in Antwerp.
In the same room is Provoost's "Death and the Miser", highlighting the link between the two artists, in this case a skull theme in both works. Dürer, in fact, had multiple talents - a painter and printmaker, he also practiced woodcutting, and 12 of them make up The Large Passion, also included in the exhibition.
A series of 12 miniatures, meanwhile, from a cycle of the life of Christ is unattributed but thought to come from Bavaria, circa 1432. Curators have wisely provided magnifying glasses so that visitors can examine the wonderful colours and details of this tempera on parchment.
Also exceptionally displayed are manuscript pages with illustrations around the text in bright blues and reds: These are to be found in a cabinet in the centre of the second room, which focuses on Bavarian, Swabian and Austrian works. Here, you find Conrad Laib, a Salzburg artist who, in one of his paintings, borrowed Van Eyck's personal motto "Als ich kan" ("As I can", a play on "as Eyck can"), reflecting an awareness of Van Eyck's work.
Van Eyck to Dürer can be enjoyed in numerous ways: For the connoisseur, new connections will be made and, among the hundreds of works on display, there will certainly be some you haven't seen before. For the novice, there is plenty of information available to put the period and the works into context.
Whichever approach you take, the pure visual impact is extraordinary, with many of these 500-year-old works literally dazzling you with their red, blue, green and gold tones. As I came out of the museum the autumn colours seemed quite dull in comparison.
In a name
Don't get confused: the artists working in the Low Countries in the 15th and 16th centuries, painting such masterpieces as "The Arnolfini Portrait" and "The Portinari Altarpiece", are also referred to as "Early Netherlandish" painters and often grouped in with artists from the "Late Gothic". In Flanders, of course, we prefer the term "Flemish Primitives".
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