More about Portrait of Philip the Good

Louisa Dewey

Contributor

Style inspiration Philip the Good’s outfit of the day circa 1450. #OOTD

Philip the Good was the Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. Engaged at the age of 8 and married by twelve, Philip was quite the 13th century player. His second wife was the widow of his uncle (to put it plainly: the dude married his aunt) and his third wife, Isabella of Portugal, gave birth to his three sons. Philip also had at least eighteen other children with his reported 24 mistresses.

Depicted around Philip’s neck is the emblem of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which he founded in 1430. This sweet chain represents the noble ideals of knightly chivalry. It’s also a total testament to Philip’s knack for accessorizing.

Despite his cringe-worthy haircut, Philip’s court was widely regarded as the pinnacle of good taste and fashion in Europe. Under his rule, the Netherlands became a hub of Renaissance culture and style. Philip is particularly well known for his patronage of Flemish artists, which quickly propelled the Netherlands to the forefront of the art world.

Beginning in 1441, the sizeable court of the Burgundy aristocracy was based in Brussels, which attracted a number of master artists to the area. The artist of this portrait, Brussels resident Rogier van der Weyden, was commissioned to paint both Philip the Good and his son Charles, as well as several other members of the court.

Rogier van der Weyden was not a realist. Instead, he tried to create an idealized image of the subject within his portraits. Needless to say, this was an incredibly popular approach for the aristocracy and wealthy bourgeoisie of the time.They wanted to look hot, and van der Weyden happily delivered. But if this is the idealized version of Philip, we’re a little surprised he had so much luck with the ladies.

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Francisco Serrador

Contributor

Philip the Good, aka Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, was:

1) Ruler of what today would be northern Belgium and southern Holland

2) The grandson of Philip the Bold and the son of John the Fearless

3) A complete stud, having serviced 3 wives and at least 24 mistresses.

Some of his illegitimate children did very well in life and held all kinds of positions of power, including the title of "Grand Bastard of Burgundy".

Philip captured Joan of Arc and turned her over to the English in exchange for a fee. The English then put her on trial for heresy and burned her at the stake.

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Wikipedia

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Here is what Wikipedia says about Portrait of Philip the Good (van der Weyden)


Portrait of Philip the Good, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon, 31 x 23 cm

Portrait of Philip the Good is a lost oil on wood panel painting by the Early Netherlandish painter Rogier van der Weyden, dated variously from the mid 1440s to sometime after 1450.


Rogier, Portrait of Philip the Good, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. Undated but Philip seems at least 10 years younger

Several versions and copies of the lost original exist, including in Lille, Antwerp, London and Paris, mostly attributed to his workshop. The highest quality version is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon. The original may have been commissioned as half of a matrimonial diptych; given his age in the painting we can assume that it would have been alongside a portrait of his third wife, Isabella of Portugal. Van der Weyden has earlier portrayed Philip in the c 1447 miniature Jean Wauquelin presenting his 'Chroniques de Hainaut' to Philip the Good.


RvdW, Jean Wauquelin presenting his 'Chroniques de Hainaut' to Philip the Good

Philip the Good was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467, and had appointed van der Weyden as his official court painter. He is pictured aged around 50 years, in three-quarter profile. As was van der Weyden's habit, the sitter's face has been elongated, even though heavy drinking had by the time taken a toll on his features, visible in his portrait in the "Recueil d'Arras". He wears a black gown and black chaperon, and a jewelled collar of firesteels in the shape of the letter "B", representing the Duchy of Burgundy, ending in the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece He holds a folded paper in his joined hands, which have been highly detailed by the artist.

Given his stature, it is unlikely that Philip sat for the artist, it is maybe for this reason that the portrait seems highly idealised, although his double chin is still pronounced. Art historian Lorne Campbell notes that the "Netherlanders expected paintings to be credibly naturalistic but ... veracity was not their ultimate or dominant aim." The British Royal Collection describe their version as a "stylised, emotionless and idealised image of the ruler".

The portrait served as the basis for many later depictions of Philip, though not all stuck to Van der Weyden's idealised view point, especially since the 17th century he has been shown as thicker set, aligning with contemporary written descriptions.

Check out the full Wikipedia article about Portrait of Philip the Good (van der Weyden)

Comments (3)

thinkstuff101
4 years ago

As per Louisa ‘ if this is the idealized version of Philip, we’re a little surprised he had so much luck with the ladies.’ To that I would say 1) it’s good to be a duke, and 2) some people are saying that there are ladies who will overlook ridiculous hairstyles provided that there is money involved (for a contemporary example I refer you to Trump/Melania)

Francisco
4 years ago

Kim Jong Un and Philip the Good should compare notes about their shared love of executing people and edgy hair styles

thinkstuff101
4 years ago

Yes, they should. Also, this portrait of Philip the Good is really very good indeed. Five stars.