LOMBARD, Lambert
(b. 1505, Liège, d. 1566, Liège)

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes

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Oil on panel, 104 x 110 cm
Rockox House, Antwerp

Although he was born in Liège and also worked there, Lambert Lombard was an important figure in the development of the Antwerp School of painters. He lived in Rome for two years, and was a passionate archaeologist, art historian and man of letters. It was his erudition and knowledge of Italian art that attracted gifted young artists like Frans Floris and Willem Key to become his pupils. Both of them were to continue their career as artists in Antwerp, where they played an important role, especially Floris. Among the few works by Lombard that we know, The Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes is generally regarded as one of the most important. The varied pleats and folds of the costumes derive from the language of form of classical antiquity which inspired Renaissance artists, while the landscape remains firmly in line with Flemish tradition.