Jean Hey: The Master Of Moulins

Jean Hey, also known as the Master of Moulins, was a popular Flemish painters in France from the late fifteenth century. One of his famous work was the “Portrait of Margaret of Austria”. It was made out of oil and it is applied on a campus; it was made in the year of 1490. Also, the painting was currently located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Margaret was the daughter of Emperor Maximilian I, and she the governor of the Netherlands. Also, she married two spouses in her lifetime. Hey made her kneel down in front of window sills that it displayed the massive county land. He painted her in the right moment where her expressions showed sternness, determination, and wealth.
It’s likely that the first element that the audience focuses
on the most was her light complexion face and the expressions she displayed. Because her cowl and dress had low color value, it brought Margaret face more contrast than her surroundings. Furthermore, her facial expression was captivating to the viewers. It depicted affluently and maturity. However, despite that she looked older, Margaret was actually a ten-year-old girl.
The colors of her dress were also the most important aspect of this painting.
Her dress was red with dark value, and it could symbolize power and wealth. The light red line that came down on the dress could be a reflection of light. It possible that her dress was made out of either silk or other expensive materials. Additionally, the cowl could possibly be made out of rich golden color silk that also depicts rich fortunes.
In order to make the painting look more three-dimensional, Hey used the shadowing techniques. By using the techniques of shadowing, he created Margaret sleeves had creases and added shadows on the pearls. He also used it on castles and trees as well. Not only he used the shadowing technique, but he added light reflection on the pearls to give it more spherical look.
The beautiful country land had nice bright green trees and grasses and a high value blue to the sky. It possible showed that Margaret family lived in a castle with lots of lands. Hey used a diminution techniques to make the castles, trees, and hills smaller than Margaret. It gave the audience a perspective that they were farther behind than Margaret. Additionally, the farthest hills and castles were blurry looking. Hey used the atmospheric perspective to give more realistic element to his
work.
Margaret necklace was the center of the painting and it possible that it was the first object that the audience see. The necklace had a luxurious large ruby with a pearl at the end, and it looked extremely expensive that only the wealthy family could afford it. However, it could be a wedding gift from one of her spouses. Also, the pearls on her hand could be the gift from the wedding too. However, it was possible that Hey wanted her to hold her white pearls because it could symbolize purity and innocence.
Jean Hey used several forms to make the idealistic portrait of Margaret of Austria. The overall message of this painting was that her presence was very mature, rich, and responsible, despite she was simply a child. The dress, cowl, necklace and pearls abundantly displayed wealth that only the rich people could afford it at that time period. Additionally, he added colors to those items to give it fortune elements. The lush land was another aspect to her extensive family wealth.