A Goldsmith in His Shop
Petrus Christus · 1449
The story
A Goldsmith in His Shop is a 1449 painting by Petrus Christus, a leading painter in Bruges. It is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is an oil painting on an oak panel that measures 100.1 x 85.8 cm (39 3/8 x 33 3/4 inches) overall and the painted surface is 98 x 85.2 cm (38 5/8 x 33 1/2 inches). An inscription at the bottom of the painting states "m petr[vs] xpi me· ·fecit·ao 1449· (Master Petrus Christus made me in the year 1449)". In addition, the inscription has an emblem of a clock with a mechanical linkage to a heart, Christus's emblem.
This painting is among the best known of the artist's work and a masterpiece of Northern Renaissance. It was possibly commissioned by the goldsmith's guild of Bruges as an advertisement.
In some sources, the title of the painting is A Goldsmith in His Shop, Possibly Saint Eligius (the patron saint of goldsmiths). The presence of a halo over the goldsmith's head suggested Saint Eligius. Later, it was determined that the halo was added after the work was painted and it was removed.
Petrus Christus worked from 1444 and died in Bruges in 1475 or 1476.
- Artist
- Petrus Christus
- Date
- 1449
- Collection
- The Met, New York, United States
- Movement
- Early Netherlandish painting
- Medium
- oil paint, oakwood
- Size
- 98 × 85.2 cm
Story adapted from the Wikipedia article and its contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: CC0, Wikimedia Commons.
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