Art History Clerihews: Northern Renaissance Division
Dirk Bouts
Concerning Christ’s humanity had doubts,
Since his Madonna shows
Baby Jesus with prehensile toes.
Robert Campin
Rose early chaque matin
Because he had to paint his own works, plus all
Those of the Master of Flémalle.*
Hugo van der Goes**
Said, when his Portinari Altarpiece
Placed the Antichrist among the family Portinari,
“Sorry.”
Hans Memling
Set shepherds trembling.
They lost sleep
Over his intelligent-looking sheep.
Geertgen Tot Sint Jans
Never worked in bronze.
He painted in oils instead
And gave Mary an egg-shaped head.
*Scholars have long debated whether Campin and the Master of Flémalle were in fact the same person.
**Pronounced “van der Hwees.”
Jay Rogoff has published seven books of poetry, most recently Loving in Truth: New & Selected Poems (LSU Press, 2020). His recent collection of essays, Becoming Poetry: Poets & Their Methods (LSU Press, 2023), won the Lewis P. Simpson Award for an outstanding book of literary criticism. His poems and essays appear widely, and he is a former Light “Poem of the Week” contributor. He lives in Saratoga Springs, New York.