Lucas van Valckenborch

In the 1570s, Lucas van Valckenborch won recognition through his panoramic landscape painting most often painted on circular panels. With a meticulousness close to illumination, the painter...

In the 1570s, Lucas van Valckenborch won recognition through his panoramic landscape painting most often painted on circular panels. With a meticulousness close to illumination, the painter managed to cleverly combine a biblical scene with a landscape filled with delicious details. Our panel features the parable of the blind leading the blind, whose depiction was hugely successful in the Southern Netherlands at the end of the 16th century. This theme became anchored in the iconography of Northern painting since Hieronymus Bosch; one of his paintings, which is now lost, is known to us through an engraving by Hieronymus Cock. This engraving was copied in turn in 1540 by Cornelis Massys, who added two more blind figures to the two others painted by Bosch. However, the most famous portrayal remains the work of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, painted in 1568 and currently kept in the Capodimonte National Museum in Naples. Valckenborch copied the motif of the stick linking the two blind men falling into the ravine from this version, as well as the motif of the church in the background. This subject was also painted by the artist’s elder brother, Martin van Valckenborch.

The Gospel of Saint Matthew tells us of Christ questioning the notion of tradition as defended by the Pharisees, based on a blind orthodoxy because it was misunderstood: “Let them alone: they are blind and leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit!” This notion of “tradition” perverted by blindness over the centuries, lies at the heart of the philosophical questioning that existed in Northern Europe in the 16th century. The Reformation, the position of the Church of Rome and the discovery of new continents and new civilisations shattered the certainties of old and “blinded” men, lost in a world whose rules they no longer seemed to control. Faced with this reality, it is easy to understand why the artists of the time were so interested in this parable.

The painting by Lucas van Valckenborch spreads over successive planes, linked by the little wooden bridge. The fall of the four blind men is depicted in the lower left-hand part of the painting, at the foot of the bridge on the edge of the pit. Following the Brueghelian version, the last two blind men are still standing on the path while the first two have already fallen over. The tranquillity of the landscape further emphasises the tragedy of this fall. This renders the contrast all the more expressive, in the same way that no-one notices Icarus drowning. The world continues on its course regardless of the tragedy unfolding before them. Technically, Valckenborch attracts our attention through his skilfully executed figures: the blind man who has fallen furthest into the ravine surprises us with his almost baroque posture. The members of this group are linked to one another through a plastic effect that reinforces the idea of movement.

But besides its main subject, the work is above all a superb example of Flemish landscape painting in the second half of the 16th century. The painting is divided in two by a magnificent oak tree that separates the heart of the celebrating village with an imposing farm with a dovecote. At the foot of the tree, a swineherd watches over his herd, which is feeding on the acorns that have fallen to the ground. This motif, often attributed to the prodigal son, is also present in the painting in the Museum of Antwerp, entitled Landscape with river, swineherd and blast furnaces. In a panorama with delicate tones, the artist offers us a stunning example of harmony that he was able to create between the deepest spiritual concerns of his time and the harmonious rendering of idealised daily life. With a perfect mastery of the strictest rules of Flemish landscape, Lucas Van Valckenborch provides us here with a brilliant work worthy of the best paintings of this era.

Before 1535 Malines – Francfurt 1597

Lucas van Valckenborch was probably introduced to painting by his father Martin van Valckenborch the Elder, before he was admitted as Master of the Malines...