Rogier van der Weyden

Rogier van der Weyden was born in Tournai, Belgium, where he received his training and worked primarily in Brussels. He enjoyed great success during his lifetime, and his works date from the 1430s to the 1460s. We’re going to focus on what is likely his most famous painting, *The Descent from the Cross* (c. 1435), which is housed in The Prado Museum in Madrid. This large work, measuring 220 by 260 centimeters, features nearly life-size figures. It depicts the moment when Christ, after having his nails removed from his hands and feet, is brought down from the cross. His mother, Mary, has fainted in grief. The painting was commissioned by the Crossbowmen’s Guild in Leuven, Belgium, and this is reflected in the tiny crossbows at the upper corners, which act as part of a painted frame. The guild, a powerful men’s club at the time, gave the painting to the church as a way of showcasing their wealth and influence. The scene is powerful. The parallel between the suffering of Christ and that of his mother, Mary, is emphasized through their bodily positioning. Christ’s right hand is positioned near Mary’s, both lifeless, while their left hands curve inward toward each other, creating a visual unity between them. This dual gesture highlights their shared pain. The symbolism is clear—by portraying Mary’s grief as closely aligned with Christ’s suffering, Van der Weyden emphasizes the humanity and emotional connection of the scene, making it more accessible and relatable to viewers. The painting’s realism is striking. For example, we see the stubble on Christ’s face, the pubic hair just above his cloth, and the blood flowing from his wounds. These details are all rendered with extraordinary precision. The artist even captures the blood’s subtle change in direction as Christ’s body is lowered from the cross. In contrast, there are some anatomical exaggerations, such as the cross’s arms being too small to have supported Christ, and the Virgin’s legs being too long for her position in the composition. When standing before this work in The Prado, many viewers comment on how realistic it appears. The hyper-realistic treatment of hair, clothing, and bodily detail makes the figures seem almost alive. The woman on the far right of the scene expresses her grief in a posture similar to one in an earlier Van Eyck painting, demonstrating the shared artistic language between these two great Northern Renaissance painters. The folds of her garment, carefully painted, contribute to her emotional tension, adding a layer of psychological depth to the scene. Folds in fabric are one of the most beautiful aspects of this painting. They are not just realistic; they’re almost abstract in their form, suggesting that the artist derived pleasure from painting them, elevating them beyond mere physical representation. When you step back and take in the whole painting, it’s striking how it seems to occupy a confined, almost sculptural space. Van der Weyden deliberately crowds the figures into a shallow space, mimicking the appearance of a sculptural altarpiece. In the 15th century, religious scenes were often depicted in wood or stone sculpture, and Van der Weyden’s work imitates this tradition, making the figures appear almost three-dimensional, as if carved from wood, though they are painted. This technique gives the painting a powerful, lifelike presence, one that must have been deeply impactful to viewers familiar with sculpture. Finally, let’s consider the formal language of the painting. Think of a painting as a sentence, with various parts—subject, predicate, and different words and types of words. In the case of Van der Weyden’s *Descent*, the positioning of the figures creates a visual rhythm. The man and woman on the left and right form “brackets” around the composition, enclosing the scene with their poses. The parallel between Jesus and Mary is emphasized through their positioning, and this central alignment dominates the entire composition. Small points of contact between figures and objects further unify the painting. For instance, Christ’s toe nearly touches a white cloth, and the red sleeve of the woman on the right almost makes contact with a white vessel nearby. These small, subtle connections help guide the viewer’s eye through the painting, creating a sense of cohesion. Van der Weyden’s creativity and pictorial intelligence shine in these moments. He instinctively knew that these visual connections would bring cohesion to the scene and shape how we experience it. The connections—both subtle and striking—draw us into the painting, allowing us to experience moments of discovery as we notice new details. Few paintings in the history of art achieve this sense of awareness and engagement, but *The Descent from the Cross* is undoubtedly one of them. It opens up to us, giving us insight not only into the emotions of the figures but into the language of art itself.

Images in video: The Pictorial Intelligence of Van der Weyden (c. 1399-1464)

Detail, Rogier van der Weyden, Saint Luke drawing the Virgin, showing a possible self-portrait of the artist, c. 1435, 137 x 11 cm, 
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts

Rogier van der Weyden, The Deposition, c. 1435, 220 x 260 cm, 
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

Altarpiece of Saint John the Baptist, c. 1500, 
Valladolid, Spain, Church of El Salvador, scene of The washing of the feet from the predella