UNKNOWN MASTER, Flemish
(active around 1500 in Antwerp)

Archery Festival

1493
Oil on panel, 176 x 141 cm
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp

Few of the worldly paintings of the 15th century have survived intact. An interesting example of this type of painting is the unusual and fascinating Archery Festival by an unknown master referred to as the Master of Frankfurt. Despite his misleading title, the artist in question was an anonymous master working in Antwerp. The Archery Festival is an allegorical representation of a historical event. The artist leads the viewer along a variety of scenes which take place against a natural background. The man dressed in a brown tabard and a black cap whom we see in the grass inside the enclosure on the right is probably the artist.