Portrait of Edward Grimston

Christus’s most personal works are his portraits, notably this portrait in which he abandons the dark backgrounds of van Eyck and van der Weyden and places his sitter in a clearly defined interior. The portrait of Edward Grimston is one of the two earliest signed and dated works by Petrus Christus.

Edward Grimston was a diplomat in the service of Henry VI, King of England. He had been sent to the Netherlands in 1445-46, during which time Christus executed his portrait. The bust of the sitter appears in the corner of a room that is illuminated by light shining through an oculus window.