Patinir, Joachim

Patinir, Joachim (de)

 or Joachim de Patinier or Joachim de Patenier

(born c. 1485, Bouvignes, Namur—died Oct. 5, 1524, Antwerp) Netherlandish painter. Nothing is known of his early life, but his work reflects knowledge of the paintings of Gerard David. He is the first Western artist known to have specialized in landscape painting, though his work has a nominal religious subject and he never painted pure landscapes. His novelty lay in the fact that the religious motif in such works as Flight into Egypt (1515–20) was overshadowed by the phenomena of the natural world. He apparently made a practice of supplying landscape settings for figure compositions painted by other Flemish masters. His landscapes combine realistic detail with a sense of fantasy that suggests his familiarity with the works of Hiëronymus Bosch.