MASTERS, unknown Flemish painters (1)
(15th century)

A number of lesser painters, whose names have often failed to come down to us, developed a style of their own in the shadow of the great masters. Although that style is at times somewhat simplified, even naïve, the inclusion of their works in the collection gives a more balanced view of fifteenth-century production, not all of which consisted of huge, glorious masterpieces. These minor masters mostly belong to the second half of the century, but that may be due to the fact that the output of paintings had not yet reached its peak before mid-century and that only few paintings from that period have survived.