The economical discourses and the Flemish art in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: reflections on the luxury market based on Jan van Dornicke’s MASP triptych

Abstract

The article has as objective of its analysis the relation between the painting and the luxury market of Antwerp in the 16th century. The triptych of the Flemish artist Jan van Dornicke, now in the MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo), serves as a starting point. After a contextualization within the artistic production in Antwerp the analysis focus onto the historical situation of Flanders in the 16th century via iconographical and sociological approaches and theoretical reflections. In the analyzed era the artistic creations obeyed the cultural, sociological and political demands of the bourgeoisie. The decorative arts of the pre- and early modern times already followed the rules of a (post-)modern industrialization. The artists produced also for other regions. With a growing demand of luxury articles they created especially for the middle and lower middle classes. Antwerp was an important center for painting and engraving as well as a commercial and financial center which existed namely because of a large number of immigrants, and had a special role as cultural mediator between northern and southern Europe. Furthermore, already in the 16th century the arts were an integrate part of the first conflicts caused by the globalization in the pre-modern era.