MASTER of the View of Ste Gudule

South Netherlandish painter. This name was given to the painter of the ‘Pastoral Sermon’ (St Géry Preaching; Musée du Louvre, Paris), which includes a view of the cathedral of Ste Gudule in Brussels. The north tower is shown as unfinished, suggesting that the work was painted before 1480, a date confirmed by the style of dress. Other works attributed to the Master include: the Virgin and Child with St Mary Magdalene and a Female Donor (c. 1475-80; Museum of Religious Art and Mosan Art, Liège), which shows the influence of both Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden in its composition; the Clothing of the Beggars (Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid) and the Liberation of the Prisoners (Musée Cluny, Paris), two panels from a series on the theme of mercy; the Portrait of a Young Man (National Gallery, London), with the portal of Notre-Dame-du-Sablon in Brussels in the background; and the Marriage of the Virgin (Catherijneconvent, Utrecht). Several of these show the painter’s interest in architecture and the buildings of Brussels, particularly those in Brabantine Gothic style.