The Master of Saint Giles takes his name from two paintings in the National Gallery, London, and two panels in Washington, sections of a dismembered altarpiece that together form the basis for reconstruction of the painter's oeuvre. Details of costume in the altarpiece sections indicate that the work dates from about 1500. References to Parisian sites suggest that it was made in Paris. The meticulous rendering of texture and light in the paintings attributable to this master has been cited as evidence of his Netherlandish background. More specific Netherlandish connections include his adaptation of Madonna types developed by Rogier van der Weyden. He was also the author of a portrait of Archduke Philip the Fair that appears to be the original version of one of the most common portrait types of this prince. Nevertheless it is not clear whether the Master of Saint Giles was a French painter with Netherlandish training or a Netherlander who emigrated to France. [Hand, John Oliver, and Martha Wolff. Early Netherlandish Painting. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1986: 162.]
Artist Bibliography
1893
Tschudi, Hugo von. "London. Die Ausstellung altniederländischer Gemälde im Burlington Fine Arts Club." Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft 16 (1893): 105-106.
1937
Friedländer, Max J. "Le Maître de Saint Gilles." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 6e pér. 17 (1937): 221-231.
1986
Hand, John Oliver and Martha Wolff. Early Netherlandish Painting. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1986: 162.