AERT VAN ORT - b. ~1470 ?, d. ~1540 ?

Aert van Ort (other names: Aert van Ortkens, Arnold of Nijmegen, Arnoult de Nimegue), Netherlandish glass painter. He was one of the most productive and influential stained-glass artists of the early 16th century and according to Guicciardini invented the technique of firing enamel colour into glass. He began his career in Tournai, where his most famous works are the transept windows of the cathedral (c. 1500), over-restored by Jean-Baptiste Capronnier c. 1845. Shortly after 1500 Aert van Ort was called to Rouen, where he influenced a generation of Norman glass painters. His work is exemplified in windows in Rouen Cathedral; the Crucifixion now in York Minster, England, originally from St Jean, Rouen; and windows in St Vincent or St Godard, Rouen.

Susanna and the Elders

Towards the end of the fifteenth century, silver-stained and painted roundels became quite common in the in houses in the Low Countries and Germany (see e.g. in the Diptych of Maarten Nieuwenhove by Hans Memling). Susanna and the Elders comes from the circle of Aert van Ort and it illustrates the opening episode of the Old Testament story in which the beautiful and virtuous Susanna attracts the lustful attention of two elders. This was probably paired with another window or two illustrating the story’s conclusion. Hundreds of roundels survive, suggesting that this form of relatively inexpensive domestic art enjoyed great popularity.