Henri Bellechose
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Henri Bellechose (fl. 1415; died before 28 January 1445) was a painter from the South Netherlands. He was one of the most significant artists at the beginning of panel painting in Northern Europe, and among the earliest artists of Early Netherlandish painting.
[edit] Biography
Bellechose was an artist who came from the South Netherlands to work for the Dukes of Burgundy. There he was appointed court painter to John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy in Dijon, and "varlet de chambre", a court appointment, as his predecessor Jean Malouel and successor Jan van Eyck were.
Almost all of his known work was commissions from the Dukes of Burgundy, including his famous Martyrdom of Saint Denis, the materials for which were advanced by the Duchy in May 1415. In April of 1420, John the Fearless had died, and so Bellechose was reappointed to his successor, Philip the Good. His recorded work for the Duke at this time was mostly decorative, including commissions such as coats of arms for funerals, as was normal for court artists, but two altarpieces, neither apparently surviving, were commissioned in 1425 and 1429. A court appointment by no means precluded outside work.
Bellechose had a large studio which at its zenith consisted of eight assistants and two apprentices. Also at this time, circa 1424, Bellechose married Alixant Lebon, the daughter of a notary.
In August 1429, it appears that Bellechose received his last ducal commission, for exactly a year later his name disappears from the ducal accounts. Indeed, Bellechose's salary had been decreased by two thirds since 1426 and from 1429 he was paid nothing at all. Philip the Good had moved the his administrative focus to the Netherlands where he employed the prodigious Jan van Eyck. The last that we know of Bellechose was that he was still alive in 1440, but absent from Dijon.
[edit] Source
- "Bellechose, Henri". The Grove Dictionary of Art. (2000). Published by artnet, with permission from Macmillan Publishers Limited. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
[edit] External links
