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Hugo van der Goes
Chronology
Date and place of birth not known (Probably Ghent, ca. 1435?)
May 5, 1467: Enrolled as free master in Ghent's Guild of St. Luke. Active in Ghent until about 1477.
1468: Summoned to Bruges to participate in making decorations for the wedding of Charles the Bold (heir to the duchy of Burgundy) to the English princess, Margaret of York.
1473/75: Serves as Dean of the St. Luke's Guild, Ghent.
1475: Called to Louvain to assess value of unfinished paintings left at death of Dirk Bouts.
1475/6: The Portinari Altarpiece. Painted for Tommaso Portinari, the Medici agent in Bruges, for donation to the hospital chapel of Sta. Maria Nuova in Florence.
1477 (Spring): Retires to become a lay brother in the Windesheim monastery known as The Red Cloister, located in the forest near Brussels.
1481: Travels to Cologne (reason unknown), with a party from the monastery. Has emotional breakdown on way home and attempts suicide at least once.
1482: Dies, apparently in connection with suicide attempt. His "case history" written down later (1509-13) by Brother Gaspar Ofhuys, who was Infirmarius at the monastery, and who had entered the order at the same time as Hugo. (Ofhuys's stress on the special treatment given to Brother Hugo a possible attempt to deflect criticism of the monastery and its infirmary?)
For more about Hugo van der Goes see:
- Vos (text)
- Grove Dictionary of Art entry (online)
- Panofsky, ENP (on Reserve)
- Blum, Early Netherlandish Triptychs (on Reserve)
- M.B. McNamee, S.J., "Further symbolism in the Portinari Altar," ART BULLETIN XLV (1963)
- The most recent monograph on Hugo is in German: Jochen Sander, Hugo van der Goes, Mainz, 1992.