_Joachim Patinir_ (Early Flemish: died 1524).
_See also_ (p. xx)
Patinir (born at Dinant, but settled in Antwerp) was styled
by Albert Dürer, who stayed with him when in Antwerp, drew
his portrait and attended his wedding, "Joachim the good
landscape painter." What distinguishes his landscape is its
greater expanse, as compared with earlier works. The Flemish
painters preceding him were mostly content with the narrow
domestic scenery of their own Maas country. But Patinir's
pictures "embrace miles of country, and open on every side....
Some far-away cottage by the river-side, some hamlet nestling
against a remote hill-slope, some castle on a craggy peak,
blue against the transparent sky--such objects were a joy to
him.... Moreover, with Patinir the fantastic element was of
much importance. He wished his landscapes to be romantic.... He
would have precipitous rocks.... His river must pass through
gorges or under natural archways; his skies must be full of
moving clouds; his wide districts of country must present
contrasts of rocky mountain, water, and fertile plains.... He
saw also the grandeur of wild scenery, and strove, though not
with perfect success, to bring that into his pictures, showing
thereby the possession of a foretaste of that delight in nature
for her own sake, the full enjoyment of which has been reserved
for the people of our own century" (Conway's _Early Flemish
Artists_, pp. 299, 300). "His figures," says Sir F. Burton,
"while retaining old Netherlandish characteristics, are
good, expressive, and even noble in conception." Most of the
Galleries contain pictures by Patinir. Madrid is particularly
rich in them.
"A high authority on early Flemish art, M. Henri Hymans, has stated
that the figures in the 'Crucifixion' given to Joachim Patinir, and of
which the landscape is undoubtedly his, are by the painter's friend,
Quentin Matsys. Unquestionably these figures differ much in colour and
execution from those contained in such other examples of Patinir in the
National Gallery as the 'Nun' (945), or 'The Visit of the Virgin to St.
Elizabeth' (1082)" (Claude Phillips in the _Academy_, September 28,
1889).