Dalmau, Luis

(active 1428-1461)

   Painter responsible for introducing the Hispano-Flemish style to Spain. Dalmau became acquainted with the art of Flanders, especially Jan van Eyck's, in 1431 when King Alfonso of Aragon sent him there to learn the Flemish tapestry technique so a similar industry could be instituted in Valencia. He remained in Flanders until 1436, when he returned to Barcelona. His Virgin of the Councilors (1445; Barcelona, Museo de Arte de Cataluña), painted for the local Town Hall Chapel, is the work with which he inaugurated the Hispano-Flemish mode. It borrows the symmetrical arrangement, postures of the figures, and Gothicized interior from van Eyck's Madonna of Canon George van der Paele (1434-1436; Bruges, Groeningemuseum) and Ghent Altarpiece (c. 1425-1432; Ghent, Cathedral of St.-Bavon). The Virgin of the Councilors is Dalmau's only work attributable with certainty to him.