GOES, UCO van der. - Painter, b. probably in Ghent in the first half of the 15th century, he is to be considered one of the greatest Flemish artists of that time, a follower of the van Eycks and of Roger van der Weyden. Little is known of his life. In 1467 he was named "master"; afterward he was "juror" of the painters' guild of Ghent, until in 1474-75 he became dean of the Guild. He held that office for a short time, because afterward he is found to have become a lay brother in a convent in the surroundings of Brussels. In the cloister (where he had taken refuge following amorous disappointments) he continued his activity as a painter, until, stricken by illness and troubled by deep religious scruples, he died in 1482.
The painter's masterpiece (since the many works executed in gouache and now lost cannot be judged) remains the triptych executed for the Portinari family of Florence, formerly in S. Maria Nuova of that city, now exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery. Tommaso Portinari, the Medici representative in Bruges, commissioned the painting directly from the artist, and it aroused such admiration in Florentine artistic circles. Domenico Ghirlandaio proved himself above all the interpreter of that admiration, for he imitated the Fleming's Adoration in a famous panel, now in the church of S. Trinita.
A keen observer of nature and a great colorist, the painter reveals his strong personality in portraits full of life and character, in the happy compositions, so rich in illustrative elements, of his sacred scenes: where the landscape, realistically and objectively represented, has great importance (the Florentine painters carefully studied the landscapes of the Portinari triptych). Besides the painting mentioned, other works by U. v. d. G. are found in Berlin, in Frankfurt, in Bruges, in Philadelphia. Notable was the influence exerted by the painter on the other Flemish artists, among them Gerard David and Albrecht Bouts.
Bibliography2 works
Pietro Zampetti