Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy; Isabelle of Bourbon (?)
1510–30
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
Each Frame: 21 × 16.2 cm (8 5/16 × 6 3/8 in.); Image: 16.5 × 12 cm (6 1/2 × 4 11/16 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
39851
Art Historical Context
This pair of intimate oil-on-panel portraits, likely depicting Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and possibly Isabelle of Bourbon, hails from the Flemish school around 1510–30. Crafted during the Northern Renaissance, these small works (each image just 16.5 × 12 cm) exemplify the era's mastery of oil painting, a technique pioneered by Flemish artists like Jan van Eyck. The allowed for luminous glazes, intricate details in clothing and jewelry, and a lifelike realism that brought historical figures vividly to life. Philip the Good (r. 1419–1467) was a pivotal ruler whose Burgundian court riva...