Saint Christopher (after van Eyck)

Philadelphia Museum of Art. Oil on panel, 29.5cm x 21.1cm

Saint Christopher is a lost painting by Jan van Eyck, known today mainly through a c 1460-70 copy on oil on oak panel by an unknown follower now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and a c 1480 drawing in the Musee du Louvre from around 1480. Each show a giant, bearded man, wading through water with a large stick, carrying the infant Christ on his shoulders. The implication is that St. Christopher, patron saint of travelers, carries the weight of the world on his back;^[1] The works show him leaning on a large stick as Christ holds a globe, with arms raised in blessing, his robe billowing to the right. The pair are set in a highly detailed, richly coloured and atmospheric landscape. There are jagged rocks on either side, set against an early evening sky, with star formations.^[2]

Saint Christopher, follower of van Eyck, Louvre

The painting was hugely influential and widely copied. It is directly referenced in a wing of Dieric Bouts Munich Adoration of the Maji, and Hans Memling's Moreel Triptych.^[2]

The Philadelphia copy, through dendrochronological analysis, is placed as around 1460, and probably closely follows the colourisation of the original. However it omits a lot of detail found in the drawing, which is considered superior.

Notes

Sources

• Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck to Durer: The Influence of Early Netherlandish painting on European Art, 1430–1530. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011. ISBN 978-0-500-23883-7

External links

At the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Jan van Eyck
Portraits	Portrait of a Man with a Blue Chaperon (c. 1430) Léal Souvenir (1432) Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati (1432) Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?) (1433) Arnolfini Portrait (1434) Portrait of Baudouin de Lannoy (c. 1435) Portrait of Jan de Leeuw (1436) Portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini (c. 1438) Portrait of Margaret van Eyck (1439)
Single religious works	Annunciation, Madrid (c. 1432–34) St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata (c. 1432–40) Annunciation, Washington (c. 1434–36) Madonna of Chancellor Rolin (1435) Lucca Madonna (1436) Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele (1436) Madonna in the Church (c. 1438–40) Madonna at the Fountain (1439)
Polyptychs	Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych (c. 1430–40) Ghent Altarpiece (with Hubert van Eyck, completed 1432) Dresden Triptych (c. 1437)
Illuminated manuscripts	Turin-Milan Hours ('Hand G', c. 1420)
Drawings	Saint Barbara (1437) Study for Cardinal Niccolò Albergati (c. 1432) Study for a Crucifixion (c. 1440)
Lost	Portrait of Isabella of Portugal (c. 1428–29) Saint Christopher (c. 1460–) Woman Bathing (c. 1434) Vera Icon (Head of Christ) (before 1438) Madonna and Child with a Donor (the Maelbeke Madonna) (after 1440)
Contested	The Three Marys at the Tomb (c. 1420s) The Fountain of Life (c. 1432) Portrait of a Man with Carnation (1435)
Workshop	Crucifixion (c. 1430–32) Ince Hall Madonna (after 1434) Christ on the Cross with the Virgin and Saint John (c. 1435) Saint Jerome in His Study (1442)