The Creative Environment: Incentives to
and Functions of Bruges Art Production
Wim Blockmans Leiden Umve^sity
The relationship between art and societv belongs to the most ferociouslv debated issues in historv. We should not be too surprised at the difficultv of the task of bridgmg the gap between ars and latio. on the one hand render-mg artistic freedom, creativitv, and taste coni-prehensible, and on the other givmg the emo-tional and sensitive aspects of mankind their due place withm the so-called ranonal Western societv. While it had been commonlv accept-ed that artistic producnon generallv developaccept-ed during penods of economie well-bemg, the noted economie histonan Roberto Lopez inverted this correlation bv stating in a famous lecture at The Metropolitan Museum of Art more than fortv \ears ago that "hard nmes' fur-thered "Investment m culture."1 E\erv detail of rus argument has been scruamzed smce then Economie histomns diversirïed their concepts of business trends and abandoned the o\erall notion of an "age of depression" as apphed to the late Middle Ages m Europe at large -Regional developments are no\v seen as con-tradictorv and orten as complementarv shirts of acmmes created depression m one region but growth in another.
The question of the relationship between econpmv and culture remains more complex. In a recent evaluation of the matter, the eco-nomie histonan Wdrned Brulez concluded that the whole discussion rested on a fmix problcme, a question formulated in the wrong wav.J In this paper, I will argue that, indeed, a solid analvsis requires more than a crude correlation between the genera! business trend and Invest-ment m culture. Moreover, the reducoon of the problem of artistic production to a shirt m Investment strategies is unacceptable. Other fac-tors, such as the structure of production and that of demand have to be considered as weil. These imply notions of the form and function of the products, which are related to values and taste. Not only economie, but also social, poli-tical, and cultural dimensions are required tbr
an adequate theory of the relationship bemeen art and society. Leavmg aside these aspects cnp-ples anv discussion of the factors mfluencmg artistic production. The tendencv toward such a reductiomst approach, as shown by some eco-nomie histonans or sociologists, explams the limited response they received trom art histo-nans.4 However, since the questions raised are absolutelv fundamental, we cannot leave the discussion as lts stands now. Historians have refmed their questions; art histonans have entered into matters of market and patronage. Can we trv to bring the two approaches clos-er to each othclos-er, concentrating on fifteenth-centurv Bruges?
To start with. a füll awareness of the social md mental context within which both pro-ducers and buvers ot works ot art operated is fundamental. The productive structure was cor-porative. authonzed by the city government, \\hich bestowed on the crafts a constitution and an orgamzational model. It provided for the training of apprentices and prescribed entrance lees, which were differentiated by the person's birth as a master's son, a burgher of Bruges. a Fleming, or a foreigner. Prices, wages, production techmques, the duration of the training, and the requirements for the adrms-sion to the master's rank were regulated m the same manner as thev were for all other crafts. The three-level structure of apprentice,jour-nevman. and master had to guarantee the qual-itv ot the products and enable the craft mem-bers to monopolize the market. Besides bemg governed by the social and economie regula-üons, the crafts plaved a role m the politica! life of the city, its military orgamzation, and the rehgious and civic testivals.3
No special provisions were made for arasts. In the umversiaes a similar pattern ot three lev-els and a division into professional sectors was to be found, but the umversmes were under the particular protection of the pope and thus remamed largely independent of local
mes. In the fifteenth-century Low Countnes, however, arüsts were bv no means disnnguished from other craftsmen. They were mcorporat-ed m vanous crafts, cogether \vith vanous other professional groups In Bruges. the pamters belonged to the same craft as the sculptors, cloth painters, glaziers. rrurror makers, saddlers, and horse-colJar makers. The woodcutters and organ budders were mcorporated with the car-penters, who fbught bitter competence quar-rels with the cabmetmakers, who had a craft of their own.6 In Ghent. the woodcutters formed a craft with the pamters, while the stonecut-ters were grouped with the masons All these formations differed locallv, making it verv clear that no concept was extant of "the artist" as havmg an occupation different trom that of other artisans. Local crafts regulated and metic-ulously controlled rhe quahtv of both the matenals and the craftmanship of the products delivered by their members One contract con-cluded between an English merchant and the painter Jan van den Heer even contamed a pro-vision that the pnce or the altarpiece hè com-missioned would be reduced if the mspectors of the craft should declare the fimshed prod-uct of inferior qualitv m relation to the agreed price." The remark b\ John Michael Montias that "the idea ot the qualm of a work of art seems to have been tar more precise at the end of the Middle Ages and m the Renaissance than later on" mav be explamed bv the apphcation of craft regulanons.
In contemporarv Italv, where the word ai te had equally designated crafts in industrv and in the arts and crafts. the frfteenth centurv saw the evolution ot the professional artist tramed with ancient models m the academies. This new concept of training went along with the sys-tematic reonentation of the stvle toward the Imitation of classical models and the more sophisticated, self-conscious vision of the role of the artist.8 Isolated elenients of the Itahan Renaissance concept, such as the mtroduction b\ Petrus Christus of one-pomt perspective, penetrated the Low Countnes in the course of the fifteenth centun, Onlv during the first decades of the sixteenth centurv did Renais-sance concepts, including styhstic features and an outspoken preference tbr humamstic themes, become prevalent as a coherent system.
In the Low Countnes, neither the training nor the self-consciousness of the artist differed
from those of craftsmen m general; even their wages were equal to those of other tramed craftsmen such as masons or carpenters. In the Bruges tax hsts of 1394-96 covenng three of the six citv quarters, nine members of the image makers and saddlers craft belonged to the lowest tax category, and two belonged to the next lowest, a social stratification very close to that of the total population.Among some l ,20U taxpavers whose professional activities could be traced, 83.14 percent belonged to the lowest and 13.92 percent to the second lowest categories; 2.20 percent and 0.63 percent belonged to the two highest tax categories. Among the latter 2.83 percent of the popula-tion no painters and saddlers were found.9 Admittedly, the central Saint John's qüarter, which mav have shown a rather different social structure, is missing m the fiscal documenta-tion. It is equally to be observed that the Situ-ation mav have changed considerably after 1394-96, as a consequence of Bruges's consid-erable economie growth dunng the foUowing Century. Anyhow. the available documents show the close similantv of the social posinon of artists with that of other craftsmen in late four-teenth centurv Bruges. The system of produc-tion and training in workshops formed a typ-ical part of this corporative structure. At the beginning of the fifteenth Century, however, the Bruges building mdustry saw the emer-gence, withm the corporative system, of entre-preneurs operating on a larger scale and on a capitahstic basis. Sirmlar exceptionally success-ful craftsmen breaking through the corporative regulanons could be found m other sectors and other cities as well.lu Some painters obvious-Iv were among those exceptions who could take some liberties, unlike dozens of their fel-low craftsmen.
The recruitment of the Bruges crafts rather precisely reflected die dernand for specific types of labor.The city accounts registered each year the mscription fees of ne\v poorters, the fully pnvileged citizens. Not every new inhabitant could or would afford the payment of the fee, but all new members of the crafts had to com-ply. During most of the fifteenth Century, the amount of the fee was six pounds pansis for Flemmgs and twelve for foreigners, or the equivalent of respectively ten and a half or twenty-one days' wages of a skilled craftsman.'' In 1441, Duke Philip the Good ordered a
stantial reduction ot the inscripnon fees for both citizens and craft members, as a clear incennve to revitalize the citv after the great revolt of 1436-38, the economie blockade, the famine, and the subsequent plague. It is inter-estmg to take a closer look at the text of the duke's ordmance, promulgated on 4 February
1441 12
Expounding the motives for his extraordi-narv measure, the duke declares to have m view the common vveal of his citv \vhich had been greatly troubled and gone badlv astrav. Wanting to have it governed correctlv, hè proposed to put an end to bad customs, especiallv those concermng the entrv fees and admission duties m the mechamcal crafts. In his view, the exces-sive duties imposed bv these orgamzaaons had discouraged people from movmg toward Bruges and beconnng mcorporated m a craft. This added to the effects of the recent plague and manv other troubles that had greatlv impovenshed and depopulated the citv In order to attract artisans from anv nation or place, hè reduced the citizenship tee, for tour \ears trom that date, to five shillmgs of Flemish groatsl j and the entry fee in anv craft to twentv ot the same Shillings. He also torbade anv of the cus-tomary duties, such as offering a dinner. and any distmction as to the place or manner ot the apprennceship. Moreover, the duke granted the new poorters treedom from the fine newlv imposed after the revolt. At the end ot the rbur-year period, in Januarv 1445, a completelv new legislation was imposed on the crafts.1 4 It is clear that the four-vear reducnons \vere close-ly connected with the measures concermng the regulation of the crafts m general A strik-ing aspect is the temporary ehmination of the discnmmaaon against foreigners and other out-siders in the craft. During the vears 1441 to
1445, all had to pay the same amount of 300 groats for citizenship and cratt membership together.This sum was the equivalent of twen-ty-six and a half davs' wages of a master crafts-man. From Januarv 1445 onward, the old dis-tinctions were remtroduced, more than dou-bhng the duties for Flemings and more than |; triplmg them for foreigners, who then had to p-pay as much as eightv-seven davs', or nearlv
fout months', wages.15
Table l Entrv fees for citizenship and craft membership m Bruges, in Flemish groats
Flermn^s Foreigners Citizen Cratt Total Citizen Craft Total 1441-45 60 240 300 60 240 300 1445- 120 506 626 240 746 986
Understandablv, the duke's measures had a strong ettect on the Immigration to Bruges m those vears From 1436 to 1440, an average of 79 new cinzens were registered each year. Those were the catastrophic years. From 1441 to 1444, under the reduced fees, a yearly average of 403 persons were registered as new citizens. During the next tour vears, under the high fees, the vearlv a\erage dropped to 158.16 Durmg the four years reduction, in all 1,614 new citizens immigrated to Bruges, who, following the text of the ordmance, were to be new craftsmen.
The immigrant Petrus Christus thus obvi-ouslv belonged to a general trend. He regis-tered on 6 Julv 1444, during the last year of reduced fees.17 I would hke to stress the tact that the duke's policv was aiming at attracting skilled craftsmen from anywhere, offering the gieatest reducnons to foreigners—to one fourth for the utizen's fee and to less than one third for the crafts' mscription. Close reading of the Poonerboek perrmts one to observe that the craft ot a new poorter is mentioned only m some cases, and in such a way as to make clear that it was the immigrant's mtennon to pursue that particular craft m accordance with the ordi-nance.The combmation of the birthplace with the eventual mention of the craft taught me that the craft was mentioned for two categones of people only: for the immigrants from the Brugse l 'ri]e, the rural district around Bruges, who needed permission to leave their vrllage, and for those born outside the country of Flanders. Smce the entry concermng Petrus Christus mentions that hè purchased citizen-ship "m order to be a pamter," his birthplace, Baerle, can onlv be the village m Brabant, halfwav between Breda and Turnhout.18 On lus journev of about a hundred miles to Bruges, hè would have had to pass through Ghent, where hè may have seen some of van Eyck's works. We do not, however, need to refer to Jan's reputation to understand why Petrus Christus was one of the 1,614 artisans of every
kind who at that time took advantage of the temporary reducüon of fees to move to Bruges.
Table 2: New poorters m Bruges. vearlv averages per decade19
Table 3: Professional sectors of the largest groups ot immigrants 1400-9 1410-19 1420-29 1430-39 1440-49 81 153 239 132 233 1450-59 1460-69 1470-79 1480-89 1490-99 165 159 127 100 66
Looking at the yearlv averages of Immigra-tion m Bruges per decade during the fifteenth Century, one notices that the 142üs and 1440s marked the absolute apex of the attraction of the Bruges labor market In the 1430s. the eco-nomie difficulties with England, the revolt of 1436-38, the blockade by the German Hanse, and the plague stiuck the city severeh 2"The whole period from 1410 to the earl\.1470s showed a strong Immigration. This comcided with a general tendencv toward increasmg the wages m the crafts bv about 14 percent -' Atter the revolt of the 1480s, the evolution v, ent steadilv downward.The proportion of immi-grants from outside the countv ot Flanders 01 from a distance of more than thim miles is remarkablv high: 53 percent m the peak \ears 1440-59, 46 5 percent m 1420-39. 44 5 pei-cent m 1460-69,38 perpei-cent m 1390-1419 Thus, the greater the number of immigrants. the farther thev traveled. Companson \\ ith the town of Oudenaarde, located some thirtrn miles southeast of Bruges, reveals how excep-nonallv attractive Bruges was. During the fif-teenth centurv, 50 percent of the migrants to Oudenaarde traveled less than six miles, and onlv 11.6 percent traveled more than thim miles or came from abroad."
The distribution by occupational sector of the immigrants of Bruges, as it can be com-puted for the penod from 1331 to 1375, shows that the percentage of immigrants engaged m arts and crafts and clothing crafts doublé the percentage of those in the same occupanons m the total population, while. for example. the building mdustrv was imderrepresented -1 And from 1466 to 1496,31 percent of the ne\\ mas-ters of the image makers' craft \\ere immi-grants.24 The speciahzed crafts thus exerted a special attraction to migrant artisans until the end of the fifteenth century.
Te\nle Building Cloching Arts % population 1394-96 15 1 1 4 5 125 7 3 % immigrants 1331-75 187 11 9 262 134
The effect of the decrease in the immigra-üon ögures, which reflects the economie regres-sion after 1475, can be observed m detail from the registranon of new members m the craft of the image makers, thanks to the studies by Sosson and Martens -D
Table 4 New members of the image makers' craft
Masters A\ era ge
Apprennces Average Number pervear Number
1454-1475 14"6-1530 177 227 8 4 215 169 per vear K) 3
The do\\nward tendencv of the business trend26 led to a strong decrease m the registra-non of new members m the image makers' craft. which feil to half the level during the golden age for the masters, and to even less than one third for the apprennces.While 60 percent of the masters of the 1454—75 period taught at least one apprentice m their workshop, this pro-pornon feil to a mere 23 percent afterward. The obvious effects were (1) the overall decrease by more than 50 percent of the number of image makers active m Bruges after 1475; (2) the near doubhng of the workshops consistmg of one master onlv: (3) the concentration of appren-tices from an average of rwo for each master \\ ho had apprentices at some time in his career m 1454—75 to 3.25 in 1476—1530. In this pic-ture, the position ot the journevmen remains unclear. Followmg Martens s observation that a large majonty of the apprennces did not reach the status of master. one has to note that most masters employed one journeyman.This leads to the conclusion that during Bruges's golden age the tvpical workshop included besides the
masier a journeyman and an apprennce for some years, with abouc 40 percent of the mas-ters working alone. After 1475, the vast major-ity of the masters must have remained alone. while less than a quarter employed a journey-man and an apprentice. Considermg the high numbers mvolved, it is very unlikely that all those one-master workshops were owned by painters ot the highest talents. Many ot them must have formed part of some kind ot divi-sion-of-labor System, such as tuncuoned m the textüe industries, limiting themselves to deco-rative tasks. It has been shown that carpenters, panel painters, and image painters divided the work for the larger altarpieces typical of the Lo\v Countries m the fifteenth and sixteenth centunes. Ready-made standardized elements were inserted in the finished product. This method allowed artists to save time and deliv-er largdeliv-er quantities of products at the moment when demand peaked dunng the fairs. h did not. however, reduce costs m such a \vav as to prohibit adaptations to the customers' taste.-7
The quantitative data presented above obvi-ously offer mteresnng possibilines for the Inter-pretation of the techmcal and arnstic quahty of pamtings. It seems plausible to launch the hypothesis that withm the same sector of crafts, artisans may have reacted to the pressure of the market in a generally similar \vay. Or were there any reasons, techmcal or other. to suppose dif-ferent procedures among the painters? The increased difFerentiation benveen one-master workshops and those including a journeyman and apprentices must be recogmzable in the charactenstics of their products. and possibly also m their prices.The important results shown by tHe technical analysis ot the wooden panels and of the underdrawmgs feed the hope that the application of adequate research methods will continue to bring new results.
So far, we have focused on the production side of the process. If we turn now to demand, we have to stress that Bruges was a really excep-tional center since it combined the presence ot a court with that of a nch commercial bour-geoisie, an exceptionally large community of foreign merchants, and an extraordinanlv well-to-do and broad middle class.-lSThe role of the court was overwhelming at certam moments, but should not be overestimated in the long run, especially since the dukes spent only lim-ited periods of time in their pniiscnlwf.The
con-tinuity ot art patronage was to be found among the local elites and institurions.29 Bruges was one of the largest cities of northwestern Europe, with possibly about 40,000 inhabitants by 1470. It contributed 15.7 percent of the sub-sidies paid by the county of Flanders to its ruler. Ghent's share amounted to 13.8 percent, while its population was considerably higher, at least in the middle of the fourteenth Century, when we have reliable estimates. Moreover, one sev-enth ot the Bruges's indirect taxes on trade tlowed into the duke's treasury.All this makes it highly probable that Bruges paid more taxes than that of Ghent. and that it could afford to do so since its individual income was so much higher. That again can be explained by its eco-nomie strucrure, more commercial than indus-tnal, and by the tact that its crafts included so many relatively capital-intensive, specialized activities.30
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Bruges was certainly the most prominent com-mercial city of northwestern Europe, offering hospitality to hundreds of foreign merchants trom all over Europe. The exact number of those of the German Hanse have been traced for the years 1363 to 1380.Throughout these years. torty to fifty Hanse merchants resided in Bruges: several of them owned or rented hous-es in the city, others lived in the tamous inns. D uring spring, when the fair was held, their numbers doubled.31 The pattern may well have been the same for all foreign nations: a core group residing for some years. and at least as many sailing in for the fair. This combination ot contmuity and change meant that a great number of foreign merchants regularly passed weeks, months, or years in the city and thus had occasion to learn of the broad variety of its opportunities.To quote the merchant Pero Tatur trom Córdoba. writing in 1437 (quoted by R.Vaughan in Philip the Good [London,
1970] pp. 244-45):
Bruges is a great and very rieh city and one of the most important markets of the world.... All nations meet here and one savs that on some days more than 700 ships leave the harbour.... Income is very high in Bruges and the inhabitants are very rich.Anybody \vho has money co spend will find here products trom ,ill over the world.
The foreign merchants had corporate build-ings belonging to their nations, particular chapels for their religious services, and private
houses. All these were concentrated m a few blocks of houses around three marketplaces north of the Great Market. The Italians were most concentrated around Beurze Square, the Ibenans had their quarters bevond the canal around Biscay Square, the Scots and the Enghsh were located m the next streets, the Hanse resided one street beyond. The proximitv of all these merchants' houses and mns must have facilitated contacts on a purely commercial level as well as on that of conviviahty and devotion.32 In this atmosphere, trade negoüanons mav well have followed exchanges about artistic prod-ucts.
There is proof indeed that altarpieces and sculptures m wood were displayed during the three "show days" of the fair, smce on that occasion even products trom outside Bruges were allowed in for sale. Durmg the fair. which lasted for thirty days begmnmg the third Monday after Easter, firee trade in raw niaten-als for pamters \vas allowed without the Inter-vention of a local broker. An ordinance of 1432 allowed woodcutters and organ builders to work on the eve of festivals and during the night to finish the work when thev had a con-tract with merchants who were eager to sail off. It is unhkely, however, that other products of art than those m wood were offered tor sale at the fair. The image makers' craft msisted on havmg their members exhibit their works in shops and at counters, and it was onlv m 1482 that the Bruges Saint Nicholas gudd had a spe-cial pand constructed for the exposition of works of art.34
Two factors may explain these different sell-ing methods. It may be that the standardization of sculpture in wood allowed production for an anonymous and large market, largelv abroad. Even then, the 1432 ordinance tor the wood-cutters and organ builders suggests that foreign merchants struck contracts durmg the "show days" m the beginning of the fair, tor products to be fimshed betöre thev sailed—that is, with-m a with-month.This iwith-mplies a direct personal con-tact between the artist and the buvers, who chose on the basis of the models displaved on the fair, but had the products speciallv made— durmg thirty davs and nights—to their order. The market mav have been anonvmous, but the merchants acted through direct personal contact.33 On the other hand, book produc-tion was equailv largeh standardized for the
external markets but not ofFered at the fair. One should not forget that, unless Stalls m the great aty hall could be used, weather condiöons trom April to early June could be harmful for pamt-ings on oak, cloth, or parchment.
Maxirmhaan Martens has convmcingly shown that rehgious confratermties may have been the orgamzations where the vanous seg-ments of the Bruges elite, from the court and the nobihtv to the foreign merchants and the local officials, could meet artists—mcludmg Petrus Christus—who were eager to accept their patronage.36 The same pattern has been revealed for other Flermsh ciües as well.37 The richness of the Bruges middle classes allowed them to participate in art patronage. We have to stress that the period from 1440 to about 1470/75 has to be considered excepnonally prosperous. especiailv in Bruges. That was exact-Iv the time of Petrus Christus's career. Real \\ ages were at their highest level m four cen-turies, thanks to the advanced economy, wide commercial networks, pohtical and monetarv stabilitv, and relativelv low taxation. In Bruges, the center of the economy of northwestern Europe, \\ork was abundant m speciahzed trades, services, arts, and crafts.The Immigra-tion of 230 to 240 arnsans per year during the 1420s and 1440s mav imply that, adding their families and the unregistered immigrants, the vearlv müux was about a thousand per vear. Thev were attracted, even from great distances, bv high wages: m 1465, a mason in Bruges might earn in real ter ms 2.4 times as much as his colleague m Haarlem.38 No wonder that corporations flounshed and were prepared to invest in culture.
Jean-Pierre Sosson has shown that during the fifteenth Century the Bruges crafts in the build-ing sector went through a process of anstocra-tization.A small elite combined the pohtical representation of the crafts with large-scale entrepreneurship facilitated by their pohtical power. In other words, thev used their repre-sentative functions on behalf of fellow crafts-men to undermme corporate sohdanty for their own profit. These social climbers mav have been very prone to imitate the behavior of the estab-hshed ehtes. not only m poiiücs but also in cul-ture.
tacts benveen very different social categories. trom courners to deans of crafts.The social dis-tance herween a nobleman and an arnsan was in daily pracuce smaller here than in less pop-ulated and less cosmopohtan regions. In this environment, new Information and ideas cir-culated rapidly, as it was of prime importance for merchants to be aware of the latest devel-opments on the markets and trade routes all over Europe. Flemmgs, and the citizens of Bruges and Ghent in particular. had developed a strong self-confidence through centuries of political struggle in defense of their autono-my. They evidently \\ere aware of their eco-nomie assets, which otten were at the heart ot conflicts. In this environment, where differ-ent cultures, languages. political forces, and economie Systems met. the expression ot ones identitv was more relevant than in a less diver-sified one. Artistic media allow people to express identity and status m a more indirect, more refined way than bv a sheer display of power and wealth.The more sophisticated the message, the more impressive it is for a culti-vated observer. Followmg Monnas, one could add that the most expensive works ot art were those commissioned bv patrons who wanted the representation to be personalized, eventu-ally bv the inclusion of their portraits "*" Once the chmate has turned to such "tultural" expressions of status and identitv, imitations may follow and multiplv m turn. until stan-dardized, cheaper copies are produced in large quantities.This in turn degrades the original expression to banality and provokes those hav-ing the necessary means at their disposal to som-ulate the creation of new tbrms of expression. If this hypothesis is accepted, it mav otfer the answ.er to a series of deadlocks m the art and society debate. Of course, a high level of cap-ital accumulation is a necessary precondition for any active center of artistic creation. The Investment in added value without anv direct Utility is to be expected only when a sufficient surplus is available. But this certamly is not a sufficient condition: prospenty does not auto-matically produce art, and the choice ot a par-ticular type of product depends on the pre-vading ambience. One has to take into account that Bruges had been an international com-mercial city smce the thirteenth Century and that Investment m culture m that penod had primarily been onented toward building
impressive churches, walls, gates, and trading halls. In that time more capital was probably mvested m public buildings than during the next two centunes. Once they existed, how-ever, a further step could be taken. Only when an elite chooses artisüc means to express lts sta-tus will artistic creativity attam momentum. Then strivmg social groups convert productive capital into symbohc capital. A favorable busi-ness cycle helps the middle classes to partici-pate by Imitation in the movement toward Investment m culture; their very participation enlarges the market for art products and attracts more artists, and thus probably also the best ones.The high concentraüon of arüsts enhances the competition between them and thus the search for conspicuous performances. At the same time, large-scale production reduces the distinctive value of the original artistic forms and provokes the taste for Innovation among the wealthiest patrons.The best condirions for artistic creation seem thus to be found in the sociallv most diversified and economically most advanced eines; cononuity and stability of social and economie conditions are required, as well as the acceptance m the society of the artistic wav of communication.
What about "hard omes," then? It is obvious that thev reduce the demand for artistic pro-duction among the middle classes. Hence the number of producers will have to fall dramat-icallv, as we have seen in Bruges after 1475.This accounts for the drying up of the stream of immigrants, most of who m from then onward preferred Antwerp with lts growing opportu-mties. In the arts and crafts, reactions to the recession were not different from those in other sectors, such as the textüe industry.41 Concen-tration m fewer workshops, of which some emploved cheap labor, allowed for specializa-tion and differenüaspecializa-tion of producspecializa-tion. A lim-ited high-quality market was thus paralleled by one of cheaper standardtzed products. It is an accepted view in economie history that some economie funcüons remained active in bypassed core eines, such as Bruges in the early sixteenth Century. Banking especially remained located for some decades m the former metropolis. Moreover, accumulated capital largely stayed in the city, often even concentrated m fewer hands.42 Here, Lopez's thesis may apply, albeit for different reasons than those hè put forward. The former commercial elite will have turned
mto a renner class and preterred, for social rather than for economie reasons, to mvest m conspicuous arnstic consumpnon with the aim of enhancmg lts status, perhaps on lts wav toward nobihtv.
The analvsis of the identitx of patrons, the display of religieus and heraldic svmbols and references to their personal achievements. the realism ot their representanon. and their promi-nence within a given (still mostlv rehgious) subject are essential to understanding the social function attnbuted to pamtings The precise analvsis ot pamting techniques displaved in the magnificent catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum ot Art's Petrus Christus exhibition is to be recommended \\ith a \ie\v to attaming an answer to the quesüon of the qualitv of artis-tic producnon. companng penods ot prosper-itv with those of contracnon Does senal \vork m larger \\orkshops flatten the qualm, since more is done bv less-qualitled people' Do \\e have to distmguish split markets, \vith a con-nnued high-qualitv production tor the reduced, but still ven activelv patromzing, elite' Does Innovation in form and content stagnate as soon as the nvalrv between ambinous and fei-ventlv mteracting patrons slo\\ s do\\ n' There are süll enough quesnons tor snmulating debate benveen histonans and art histonans
Ie." than 1% of tlic total
mw than l %, np to 5% tmm than 5%, tip to 10% imvt than 10%, up to 150/o bciimti 20% and 25% bcniveii 25% and 30% Limburg Luxemburg
Figure l Regional ongms ot the 173 ne\\l\ registered members of the Bruges building cratts, 1418-50 (trom Sosson Trji'Jiix public*, p 334)
NOTES
1. Roberto S. Lopez. "Hard Times and Investment in Culture." Metropolitan Museum ot Art. ed. Tlie Renaissance:
Six Essays (New York. 1962) pp. 29-54.
2. lohn H. Munro."Economie Depression and the Arts in the Firteenth-Centurv Low Countnes." Renaissance and
Reformation 19 (1983) pp. 235-250.
3. W. Brulez. Cultuur en Getal:Aspecten van de relatie
ccoiioime-maatscliappij-ailtuur in Europa tussen 1400 en 1800 (Amsterdam.
1986) pp 84-88.
4. For an excellent recent discussion of these problems. see Michael North, Kunst und Kommer: un Goldenen Zeitalter' Zur
Sosiai^i'scluchte der niederländischen Malerei des 17 Jahrhunderts
(Colonne/Weimar/Vienna. 1992) pp. 3-23
5. An exemplarv studv is that by J. P. Sosson. Les Travanx
publics Je la i'ille de Bruces XII T-Xl T siecles: Lcs iiiateruiix. Lo
hommes \ Brüssels. 1977) pp. 131-201.
6. J P. Sosson. "Une approche des strucrures économiques d'un métier d'art: La Corporation des pemtres et selhers de Bruges iXVe-XVIe siecles)." Revue des archeoloyies et historicus
d'art ae Loiivam, 3 (1970) pp. 91-KKJ.
7. John Michael Monnas."Le Marché de l'art aux Pavs-Bas. XVC et XVIe siecles." Annales. Economies—>onetes—Zivilisation^
48, no. 6 ('November-December 1993) pp. 1558-1559 . \Mch reference to the unpubhshed \\ork by L\nn Jacobs]
8. Bram Kempers. Kunst, inaclit en mecenaat l Amsterdam. 1987) pp. 231-247. 326—35 l: also available in German trans
Kunst. Maclit und Macxenatcntuin: der Bcnir des Malers in der ital-ienischen Renaissance (Munich. 1989).
9. Inand De Mever."De sociale strukairen te Bruine m üe 14e eeu\v."W. Blockmans et al.. Studien betreffende de soctate
>tntk-tureit te Brugge, Kortrijk en Gent in de 14' eil 15' eeuw. Statuten en Lanaen 54 (Heule. 1971) pp. 12. 36. 52. 55.
10. J. P. Sosson. "Quelques aspects sociaux de l'arnsanat brux-ellois du métal." Cahiers Bruxcllois 6 (1961) pp. 98-122. and idem,"L'Arnsanat bruxellois du métal: Hierarchie soci.de. sai.ures et puissance économique U360-1500V ibid. 7 il"62'; pp 225-258.
! 1. Summer wages \vere raised trom 10 to 12 preuts per dav for most crafts m the building industry at different moments: m 1429 tbr the slaters. in 1434 for the pavers. in 1442-5(1 for the masons. in 1446 tbr the carpenters. m 1450 tbr the thatch-ers. l calculated an average day-wage m the middle of the Cen-tury on the basis of two-thirds summer and one-third \vinter wages. resultmg in 11 (case fractionl/3) groats: see Sosson.
Travatix puhlics, pp. 300-303, Mv calculanon corrects that bv
Maximihaan P. J. Martens. "Petrus Christus: A C u l t u r a l Biography," in Maryan W. Amsworth and Maximihaan P. J. Martens. Petrus Christus, exhib. cat. (New York. 1994) p. 20. n. 10.
12. Poorterboek 1434-50, fol. 23-24v. Stadsarchief. Bruges The text was pubhshed with some readmg errors bv R. A Parmenner. Indices op de Bmgsthc Poorterim-kcn, 2 vols. iBruges. 1938) vol. 2, Annexes, pp. 5—8: to be read in connection with the reintroducnon of the previous high tarirts by the atv alder-men on 25 January 1445, on pp. 8-9.
13.1 regret havmg to correct on this pomt both E.Thoen, "Imrmgraaon to Bruges m the L.ite Middle Ages," Le int(<ra:iaiii
in Europa secc. XHI-Xl 'IH:Atti della 2Üa settnnane di studi. htituto di storia economica Francesco Datini (Prato. 1993) p. 339. who
mentions 12 instead of 3 pounds parisis tor foreigners in
1441-45: and Martens."Petrus Christus." pp. 15 and 195.The former mentions 12 pounds parisis as the cinzenship fee for foreigners in 1441-45, but as the pound parisis was equal to only 20 groats, and a shilling was 12 groats. the actual figure \\as 3 pounds parisis. Martens uses the correct figure but assumed that the city accounts were m pounds groats, rather than pounds parisis; city accounts wre usually made up in pounds groats. but in this case, as m some other instances when goods are mennoned, the archaic pounds pansis. must have been meant.Thus the einzen fees, for both Flemings and foreign-ers. tbr the years 1441 to 1445 amounted to 3 pounds parisis, ot 20 groats each, equal to the 5 Shillings groats mennoned in the ordmance. From 1445-46 onward. the fees amounted to 6 pounds tor Flemmgs and 12 pounds for foreigners. See the atv accounts m the Stadsarchief. Bruges, or m the Algemeen Rijksarchief. Brussels.
14. Sosson. Travaitx publics, pp. 58-60, 136-141. 15. Parmenner, Indices, vol. 2, Annexes, pp. 8-9.
16. Calcuiated from A. Jamees, Brugse poorters. 4 vols. (Handzame. 1974-80) vol. 2, l, p. 11.
17. Amsworth and Martens, Petnis Cliristus.p. 195. 18. Compare Amsworth and Martens, Petnis Christus, pp. 15. 55-56.To take only one example, tol. 72v of die Poorterboek mennonmg Petrus Christus hsts eleven entnes, of which five mennon a craft. One man from Moerkerke, m the Bnigse Vrije. expresses the mtention ot becommg a tanner and brings an "issue" letter; the tour others come from Goes in Zeeland (a tradesman). Borgloon in the Land of Liege (a maker ofcha-subles). Baerle (a pamter) and Dongen near Breda (another tradesman).The six other entnes concern people bom in parts of the countv of Flanders outside the Bnigse Vrije, and make no mention of their craft.The Poorterboek is, from what I have observed. absolutely consistent m making this disnncrion.
19 Thoen. "Immigration," p. 337.
20. RichardVaughan. Philip the Good:TlieApogee ofBurgundy (London. 1970) pp. 87-92.
21 .To be preose a 20 percent increase of the summer wages, \\hich amounted to 13.8 percent on a yearly basis if the sum-mer wages accounted for two thirds ot the total income: Sosson,
Tramux publics, p. 226.
22.Thoen, "Immigrants," pp. 347-348.
23. Ibid.. pp. 348-350, and De Mever,"Sociale Strukturen," p. 36 (with the statistical reservations formulated above after note 9).
24. Albert Schouteet, De Vlaamse pnmitieveti te Bniggr; Bronnen
i'oor de schilderkunst te Brugge tot de dood van Gerard David, I
(Brussels, 1989) p. 9; Maximiliaan P. J. Martens. Arristic Patronage in Bruges Institutions, ca. 1440-1482, (Ph.D.diss., Umversitv of California, Santa Barbara, 1992: University Microfilms).
25. Sosson,"Une approche"; Martens, Arristic Patronage 26. W. Prevenier ans W. Blockmans, The Burgundian
Xetherlands (Antwerp-Cambndge, 1985) pp. 191-196.
27. Montias."Le marché."pp. 1549-1551,1559.
28. W. Blockmans, "Bruges the European Commercial Centre," in Bniges and Eumpe, ed.V.Vermeersch (Antwcrp, 1992) pp. 40-55. and other chapters m this book.
29 LoriK C inipbi.ll T IK »\it M u k i t in clu S o u t l u n i Nttherhnds m tlic Fittccruh C cntun 77« Builiiutwi W<Jiw~j;/< l is f\pnl 19-»,) pp 1SS-I9S
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