An Overview of the Duchy of Burgundy 1369-1477

1. Duchy of Burgundy
1369-1477
The Low Countries
Belgium
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Northern France

2. Burgundian court was the single most important artistic patron until 1477.
The greater part of this period is marked by economic prosperity, the growth of cities,
and prodigious artistic innovation in the Low Countries.

3. Arts in all media flourish: while the
church is still a key patron, members
of the affluent middle class and
prosperous corporate bodies
commission tapestries
and stained glass, often designed by
painters, as well as metalwork,
sculpture, and furniture.

4. Private Life
Southern Netherlands became one of the most powerful and artistically sophisticated regions in
Europe during the fifteenth century.
Artists sought employment in Bruges, Brussels,Ghent, and Leuve where the dukes governed or kept
residences
Private citizens also used art to express their spiritual concerns and personal ambitions.
Art served widely diverse functions, from religious to decorative, and was produced in a broad range
of media, from book illumination to tapestry.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bnpr/hd_bnpr.htm

5. After 1477
In the latter years of the sixteenth century, the Low Countries engage in a series of bloody conflicts with Spanish
Habsburg rulers.
In 1581, the northern provinces become an independent state, known as the States General or the Dutch Republic.
References--------
"Low Countries, 1400–1600 A.D.". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?
period=08®ion=euwl (October 2002)

6. After 1477
In the latter years of the sixteenth century, the Low Countries engage in a series of bloody conflicts with Spanish
Habsburg rulers.
In 1581, the northern provinces become an independent state, known as the States General or the Dutch Republic.
References--------
"Low Countries, 1400–1600 A.D.". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?
period=08®ion=euwl (October 2002)