Quentin Matsys - Death

Death

Matsys died at Antwerp in 1529. In spite of his religious devotion, several of his relatives died as a result of their faith. His sister Catherine and her husband suffered at Leuven in 1543 for what was then the capital offence of reading the Bible: he being decapitated, she allegedly buried alive in the square before the cathedral. In 1629 the first centennial of Matsys' death was marked by a ceremony and erection of a relief plaque with an accompanying inscription on the facade of the Antwerp Cathedral. Benefactor Cornelius van der Geest is said to be responsible for the wording, stating: "in his time a smith and afterwards a famous painter", keeping in accordance with the legends surrounding Matsys' humble beginnings.

Read more about this topic:  Quentin Matsys

Famous quotes containing the word death:

    and so this tree—
    Oh, that such our death may be!—
    Died in sleep, and felt no pain,
    To live in happier form again:
    From which, beneath Heaven’s fairest star,
    The artist wrought this loved guitar;
    Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)

    Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their parents; only for their own crimes may persons be put to death.
    Bible: Hebrew, Deuteronomy 24:16.