School of Quentin Massys; second third of the XVI century.

School of QUENTIN MASSYS (Louvain, 1466-Antwerp, 1530); second third of the 16th century.
"Pietà".
Oil on panel. Cradled.
Measurements: 66 x 50 cm; 88,5 x 73 cm (frame).
The work follows the model of Quentin Massys of the cathedral of Seville, although in this case the landscape is not appreciated, but the characters are inscribed in a completely dark background that confirms the intimate and emotional value of the piece. The Virgin resting her head on her son, while holding him from behind, seems to be trying to verse him for the last time. While the body of Christ falls and only the face rises due to the intervention of the Virgin who holds him, already dead, in her arms. The iconography of the Pieta arises from a gradual evolution of five centuries and, according to Panofsky, derives from the theme of the Byzantine Threnos, the lamentation of the Virgin over the dead body of Jesus, as well as from the Virgin of Humility. The first artists to see the possibilities of this theme were German sculptors, the first example being found in the city of Coburg, a piece from around 1320. With the passage of time the iconography will spread throughout Europe, and in the seventeenth century, after the Counter-Reformation, it became one of the most important themes of devotional painting.
Due to its technical characteristics, the work has certain similarities with the artistic circle of Quentin Massys, who made several paintings on the subject.
As the founder of the Antwerp school, characterized by the achievement of a balanced synthesis between the Flemish tradition and the influence of the Italian Renaissance, Quentin Massys was a very influential figure, with several disciples and followers. He was born in the city of Louvain, although he developed his career in Antwerp. He cultivated religious themes and portraiture, the two most popular genres of the time, and his works often had a clear satirical undertone. He was trained in the language of the Flemish primitives, which prevailed in his formative years. Thus, the intense religious sense, the chromatic sumptuousness and the meticulousness of detail will remain as constants in his style, although with the passage of time the influences of Leonardo da Vinci will be appreciated, and his language will become increasingly delicate and calm. It is believed that he may have known Leonardo's work through the engravings that circulated at the time in Flemish artistic circles, often made by local engravers. In fact, his "Madonna and Child with Lamb" (1513, Poznan, National Museum) is clearly inspired by the Italian's "Madonna and Child with Saint Anne" (ca. 1503, Paris, Louvre). Historians consider, moreover, a possible trip by Massys to Italy, although no documentary sources are preserved to confirm this. In fact, we know little reliable data today about his life, especially about his early life. The son of a blacksmith, it is said that he left the family trade for painting because he considered this art to be more elevated. In any case, there is no documentation of the painters' guild in Louvain before 1494, so there is no concrete evidence that Massys obtained the rank of master there. However, historians generally accept that he must have begun his training there, because he is not recorded in Antwerp as an apprentice. We do know from later sources that he had his own workshop in Antwerp, but only four apprentices were trained there: Adrian van Overbeke, Willem Muelenbroec, Eduart Potugalois and Hennen Boeckmaere, all of whom were registered in his workshop between 1495 and 1510. It is now considered that Joachim Patinir also spent part of his formative years in Massys' workshop, and that he collaborated with the master by painting landscapes for his works. The lack of data about Massys in Antwerp during the following years suggests that he may have traveled to Italy and other cities in the Netherlands. In any case, the foreign influence in his language is deduced from his paintings and is considered an important part of his training already late, in the new century. Regarding the Flemish basis of his language, there are clear traces of the language of Dirk Bouts, who introduced in Leuven the influences of Hans Memling and Rogier van der Weyden.