Flemish painter

 

Grandson of the illustrious Rogier van der Weyden.

Son and probably pupil in Brussels of Pieter van der Weyden until 1492.

 

After having been active in Lier and at the Abbey of Tongerlo he settled in Antwerp in 1498.

In the early 16th century several artists and workshops were active here, who were all strongly influenced by Hans Memling.

Goswyn van der Weyden is known to have employed a number of assistants in his workshop in Antwerp; for that reason the quality of his output can fluctuate within his oeuvre.

 

 

In accordance with the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary presented their firstborn son, Jesus, at the Temple of Jerusalem on the 40th day from his birth, that is on February 2nd.

 

The priest Zacharias holds the young child in his arms. Zacharias and Elizabeth (who was the sister of Anne, the mother of Mary) were the parents of Saint John the Baptist. Elizabeth must be the praying woman represented next to the Virgin Mary at the centre of our painting. Left of the Virgin, in front of the donors, stands her husband Joseph. In the foreground a young woman is presenting a basket with two turtledoves. For the redemption of the firstborn one could chose between scarifying a lamb or, for poor people, a pair of turtledoves. 

 

Two other important characters in this story, as described in the Gospel of Saint Luke (Luke 2: 22-40), are more difficult to detect: Simeon and the old prophetess Anna both recognized Jesus as Christ, as the Messiah. They must be standing on either side of the priest Zacharias: 

Anna is the old woman who looks from close by at Jesus, while Simeon must be the man who is reading at right. To the old, devout Simeon it had been predicted by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Redeemer. After giving praise to God, Simeon blessed Mary and revealed to her the first dark prophecy about the fate of her son.

 

Behind Joseph, at left, stand the two donors of our painting. The two young women next to them must be their two daughters.