Portrait of Lodewijk van Gruuthuse

The weapon’s shield and the motto “plus.est.en.vous” below on the frame make the identification of the man possible. It is Lodewijk van Brugge, lord of the Gruuthuse and Chamberlain of Philip the Good and Charles the Bold. He was also a Knight of the Golden Fleece, such as it seems judging from the necklace that he wears in the painting. After an impressive political career, however, he had a falling out with Maximilian of Austria. The pose of the figure, as well as the traces of hinges on the frame on the left side, indicate that this portrait was a right-sided panel. It is possible that originally the whole was a diptych with a representation of Mary and the Jesus as a child on the left panel.