Pieter Coecke van Aelst

PIETER COECKE VAN AELST(Aalst, 1502 - Brussels,1550)
"Triptych".
Oil on panel.
It presents restorations on the pictorial surface.
Measurements: 107,5 x 48 cm (central panel); 107 x 174 cm (side panels).
In the center of this triptych is represented the ascension of Christ to the heavens, being this observer by the apostles and the Virgin. On the right side Pilate has just judged Jesus, who is being carried by two soldiers and finally, on the left side of the composition we can appreciate Jesus on the resurrected tomb. These scenes show a great normativity with respect to the biblical story, but this coherence is not only thematic but also aesthetic, since in the three works the use of a chromatic range of clear and bright colors predominates in the composition. In addition, despite the distortion of the anatomies presented by all the characters, a great dynamism can be appreciated in the piece, which is granted by the harmonization of a classical compositional structure, using a triangular pattern in all the scenes. The iconography and the composition repeat models of the 15th century, but the triangular arrangement, the plastic rotundity of the figures and the subtle modeling of the faces and the anatomy of the Child, as well as the architectures, respond to the new Italian language.
In the 16th century, following the introduction of the novelties of the Italian Renaissance, the Flemish style evolved towards a more classical and sculptural sense, while retaining its own characteristics. In this context is Pieter Coecke van Aelst or Pieter Coecke van Aelst the Elder, who was a Flemish painter, sculptor, architect, author and designer of woodcuts, goldsmiths, stained glass and tapestries. His main subjects were Christian religious themes. In the words of the Prado Museum "at first his painting seems to have been influenced by his master Bernard van Orley and his father-in-law Jan van Dornicke. Later, his style, described as Antuerpian Mannerist, and close to the tradition of the last works of Raphael, evolves towards a language close to that of the Romanists". He worked in Antwerp and Brussels and was appointed court painter to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Coecke van Aelst was a polyglot. He published translations into Flemish (Dutch), French and German of architectural treatises from ancient Rome and modern Italy. These publications played a key role in the dissemination of Renaissance ideas in northern Europe. They contributed to the transition in northern Europe from the then predominant late Gothic style to a modern "antique-oriented" architecture. Pieter Coecke van Aelst was the son of the deputy mayor of Aalst. The early Flemish biographer Karel van Mander wrote in his Schilder-boeck published in 1604 that Coecke van Aelst studied with Bernard van Orley, a prominent Renaissance painter based in Brussels. There are no documents to prove this apprenticeship, but there are strong stylistic similarities between the styles of the two artists. According to Karel van Mander, Pieter Coecke van Aelst later studied in Italy. Although there is no firm evidence that Coecke van Aelst traveled to Italy, stylistic evidence supports this idea. However, the Italian influence could also be attributed to the fact that Raphael's tapestry cartoons were available in Brussels.