Portrait of Jean Gros (recto); Coat of Arms of Jean Gros (verso)1460–64
This portrait was once part of a diptych. More about this work
About this work
This portrait was once part of a diptych. The sitter—identifiable through his coat of arms, personal motto, and initials on the panel's back—is Jean Gros, an administrator to the future duke of Burgundy. His prayerful gaze was originally directed at the other panel depicting Mary and the infant Jesus. Rogier van der Weyden created similar diptychs for the Burgundian court's highest level of patrons.
Text from the Art Institute of Chicago.
What you’re looking at
Painted dark colored portrait of man, hands in prayer.
Description from the Art Institute of Chicago.
How it was made
- Oil on panel
- Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes.
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Rogier van der Weyden
Netherlandish, c. 1399–1464 · Born in Tournai; died in Brussels.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Art Institute of Chicago has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1933.1051
- Credit
- Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Type
- Painting
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
