PATENIER, Joachim
(b. ca. 1480, Bouvignes, d. 1524, Antwerpen)

Rest on the Flight to Egypt

c. 1520
Oil on panel, 121 x 177 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

Patenier is considered to be the first landscape artist of the Renaissance. Like many painters of the period, he uses landscape to create a suitable setting for the figures in his scenes. But although he integrates his narrative within them, his landscapes become more than mere backgrounds, and begin to assume their own autonomy. For the most part, Patenier maintains an equilibrium within his paintings between the presence of the figures and the landscape, and only in a few is he bold enough to shift this balance in favour of his vision of nature. His detailed technique is typical of Flemish artists, but his novelty lies in his creation of space and depth through subtle gradations of light and colour, as well as a certain effort at capturing the atmosphere of the scene.