Gerard David
, Netherlandish, c.1460-1523
Title
Christ Bidding Farewell to the VirginDatec.1498-c.1515
MediumOil on oak panel
Dimensions
119.6 x 61.4 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1869
Object numberNGI.13
DescriptionAcquired in 1869 as a work by Hugo van der Goes, Christ Bidding Farewell to the Virgin is now considered to be by Gerard David. Born and trained in the northern Netherlands, but flourishing as a master in Bruges, David was the last of the so-called ‘Flemish Primitives’. This modern term is used to describe a number of fifteenth-century artists who introduced significant innovations to the technique of oil painting, allowing them to paint works with an unprecedented realistic effect. About half of David’s oeuvre consists of devotional panels, his most popular image being that of the Virgin and Child enthroned. David’s patrons were primarily churches, monasteries, convents and rich magistrates. The panel was probably originally part of a diptych. The other wing would have depicted the Virgin to whom Christ is bidding farewell. This subject was not mentioned in the Bible but is described in the thirteenth-century Meditaciones Vite Christi, probably written by the Franciscan friar Johannes de Caulibus. According to this literary source, Christ announced his forthcoming death to the Virgin and St Mary Magdalen before the last Supper.
ProvenanceO'Shea, county Waterford; purchased, Christie's, London, 1869 Exhibition HistoryWinter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1896
Flemish Art 1300-1700, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1953-1954
Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Label TextBorn and trained in the northern Netherlands, but flourishing as a master in Bruges, Gerard David was the last of the so-called ‘Flemish Primitives’. This term is used to describe a group of fifteenth-century artists who introduced significant innovations to the technique of oil painting, allowing them to paint works with an unprecedented realistic effect. David was highly skilled in emulating the art of his predecessors, including Jan van Eyck, Hugo van der Goes and Hans Memling. This painting is a fragment. Originally, it would have depicted the Virgin and other figures, to whom Christ is bidding farewell.