MASTER of the Legend of Saint Ursula (I)

Flemish painter. The artist was named by Friedländer after the altarpiece of eight panels illustrating the Legend of St Ursula, with two additional panels showing The Church and The Synagogue (before 1482; all Bruges, Groeninge Museum), formerly in the convent of the Augustinian Black Sisters in Bruges. Among several surviving portraits, the Portrait of a Donor (c. 1479; Philadelphia, Museum of Art) apparently portrays Lodovico Portinari; it was originally part of a diptychGLOSSARYin medieval art a picture, often an altarpiece, consisting of two folding wings without a fixed central area., accompanied by a Virgin and Child (Cambridge, Fogg Art Museum). Among important surviving works, the Virgin and Child with Three Donors (Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten) is dated 1486.

A number of the paintings include depictions of the city of Bruges and may be dated to before 1483 or between 1493 and 1499, depending on the state of the belfry, which underwent additions and alterations at these times. The artist's style is apparently derived from Rogier van der Weyden but also shows the influence of Hans Memling. Many of the Master's works were formerly attributed to Hugo van der Goes. The central panelGLOSSARYTerm in painting for a support of wood, metal, or other rigid substance, as distinct from canvas. Until the adoption of canvas in the 15th century nearly all the movable paintings of Europe were executed on wood, and even up to the beginning of the 17th century it is probable that as much painting was done on the one support as on the other. Painters who worked on a small scale often used copper panels (Elsheimer is a leading example), and in the colonial art of South America copper and tin and even lead and zinc were used. On a larger scale, slate has occasionally been used as a support, notably by Rubens for his altarpiece for Sta Maria in Vallicella (the Chiesa Nuova) in Rome; the picture he originally painted was said to reflect the light unpleasantly and slate was used for the replacement to produce a more matt finish. For wood panels the Italian masters of the Renaissance preferred white poplar, while oak was the most common wood used in northern Europe. Many other types were used, however; analysis of the contents of art galleries has yielded a long list, including beech, cedar, chestnut, fir, larch, linden, mahogany, olive, and walnut. In the 20th century cedar, teak, and dark walnut are favourites, and modern painters have also used plywood, fibre-board, and other synthetic materials as supports. of the triptychGLOSSARYA painting in three sections, usually an altarpiece, consisting of a central panel and two outer panels, or wings. In many medieval triptychs the two outer wings were hinged so that could be closed over the center panel. Early triptychs were often portable. of the Nativity (c. 1495-1500; Detroit, Institute of Art) shows the influence of Memling's compositions, while the left wing indicates a knowledge of the Visitation panels (Leipzig, Museum der bildenden Künste, and Turin, Galleria Sabauda) that have been attributed to Rogier van der Weyden.