Gerard David

Gerard David (c. 1460–1523) was born in Oudewater, in today's province of Utrecht, and formed his early style in Haarlem under Albert van Oudewater. He moved to Bruges in 1483 and joined its Guild of Saint Luke the following year. After Hans Memling's death in 1494 he became the leading painter in Bruges, and in 1501 he was dean of the guild. His mostly religious pictures are noted for their colour, soft handling of light and fresh approach to landscape, and from Memling he took a solemn, orderly arrangement of figures. He also worked closely with the leading manuscript illuminators, painting some important miniatures himself. His best-known works include The Virgin among the Virgins, now in Rouen, while The Judgment of Cambyses is among the few still in Bruges, in the Groeningemuseum. His name had been forgotten when documents found in the Bruges archives in 1866 led to his rediscovery. He died in Bruges and was buried in the Church of Our Lady. Here: The Marriage at Cana.