Jesus healing the blind is by the Circle of Joos de Momper. Born in Antwerp in 1564, de Momper is regarded as one of the leading Flemish landscape painters of his time. He was active during a period characterised by a transition from mannerist ideas to a realistic depiction of the landscape.
This work shows a single intimate encounter centred on the picture plane, with the background mountain landscape rendered in a realistic manner. The ‘framing’ of the picture, with trees on the left and a rocky outcrop on the right, provides a setting in which the action of the figures takes place in the foreground and middle ground. The presence of such dramatic landscape is often interpreted as an expression of the power and wonder of 'God’s creation'.
In the early seventeenth century, Antwerp was one of the major European centres for art production, and was organised around the guild workshop system. A division of labour among artisans and specialists was characteristic of this system. Artists specialised in either figure painting (staffage), background landscape painting, or the construction of wood panels and supports. This has created difficulties in attribution, particularly when the mark or monogram of the workshop master is not present on the panel. In this painting, the landscape has been attributed to Joos de Momper, while the figures were executed by another artisan.
