Master of the Saint Lucy Legend
( fl c. 1475–1505). South Netherlandish painter and
draughtsman. This name was coined by Friedländer to identify the
artist responsible for a group of paintings linked stylistically
to the panel of the Legend of St Lucy (1480; Bruges, St
Jacob). Some 45 to 50 paintings are associated with this master,
although variations among them suggest workshop participation in
certain cases. Some silverpoint drawings have also been
attributed to him (Roberts). Depictions of the city of Bruges in
the background of some of his paintings record changes in the
belfry, which was being remodelled from 1483 to c. 1502.
Verhaegen noted four distinct forms of the belfry recorded in
them, and on this and the stylistic evidence of the paintings
themselves she proposed a chronology for the artist’s works. The
Virgin among Holy Women (Brussels, Mus. A. Anc.), dated to c. 1490, typifies his mature style:
ponderous figures occupy a shallow space near the picture plane
in a static, symmetrical composition with lush foliage and
brocaded garments that display a detailed rendering of surface
textures characteristic of 15th-century Netherlandish art. The
Master’s paintings are technically proficient reworkings of
established themes. As a narrative, the Legend of St Lucy
is unusual among the artist’s surviving works, as most of them
are devotional images, including, in particular, many images of
the Virgin, such as the Brussels Virgin among Holy Women,
a Virgin and Child Enthroned (Los Angeles, CA, Co. Mus.
A.) and a half-length Virgin and Child (Williamstown, MA,
Clark A. Inst.). The static compositions, cool colours and
subdued emotion of his works (e.g. the triptych of the
Lamentation; Minneapolis, MN, Inst. A.) give his paintings a
solemn, rather than expressive, effect.
