Conrad von Soest
1360–1423 · German International Gothic painter, master of the soft style in Westphalia
Conrad von Soest (also Konrad, or in Middle High German Conrad van Sost) was a German painter active in Westphalia at the end of the 14th century and the start of the 15th. Born around 1370 in Dortmund, he is regarded as the most important artist of his region working in the so-called soft style of the International Gothic. He helped bring this courtly style to northern Germany around 1390, and his work shaped German and northern European painting into the late 15th century.
Little is known for certain about his training. His detailed familiarity with Parisian models and techniques suggests he may have worked in Paris as a journeyman in the 1380s, although this is not directly documented. As a master he ran a prosperous workshop in Dortmund, a wealthy city and a leading member of the Hanseatic League. A marriage contract dated 11 February 1394, drawn up before witnesses, shows him within the circle of the city's patricians. Membership lists of Marian confraternities from 1396 place him on the Osterhellweg, the main street.
His style blends the linear elegance of French manuscript illuminators with influences from Burgundian painting and early Netherlandish artists working in Paris. His major works include the Passion altarpiece at Bad Wildungen, dated around 1403, with scenes from the Life of the Virgin and the Passion of Christ. Other key works are the small portable altarpiece for the Berswordt family, dated 1404 and now in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, and the Marienaltar in Dortmund's Marienkirche, from around 1420, whose panels were cut down in 1720 to fit a baroque frame. A Saint Nicholas panel in Soest is attributed to him.
His legacy lies mainly in his workshop and in the later painting of northern Germany. A painter named Gerhard von Soest is recorded in Cologne in 1417 and was probably his son, although this is not confirmed.
Works (2)
Curiosities
A pair of glasses on an altarpiece
The Passion altarpiece at Bad Wildungen includes a pair of glasses, the oldest known depiction of this object north of the Alps. It is a tiny detail, but it offers a rare glimpse of spectacles in early fifteenth-century northern Europe.
A chronicle on the back
A local chronicle, now badly worn, was written on the reverse of the central panel at Bad Wildungen. In the 1950s, a hidden signature was also found in the Dortmund altarpiece, helping to confirm the authorship of a work that had previously lacked secure attribution.
Witnesses of high standing
Six members of Dortmund's patriciate witnessed his 1394 marriage contract, including the second mayor then serving on the council and two mayors already elected for the following year. Such eminent witnesses suggest he enjoyed considerable social prestige, and possibly that this was a second marriage.