, from the Famous men'' series Two works from the time before he left for Italy have been preserved: the monumental
Crucifixion Altarpiece or
Calvary Triptych (in the
Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent) and the
Adoration of the Magi (
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). The latter painting was possibly commissioned for a convent near
Burgos in Spain. For this reason the picture was painted on canvas so it could be rolled up for easy transport. The stage-like space and arrangement of the main figures in two parallel diagonal lines seem to suggest an inspiration by theatre reenactments of the story of the
Epiphany. Both these early paintings are characterized by monumentality. The facial features of the figures and colour spectrum are closely related to the oeuvre of Hugo van der Goes. The two masters likely worked together before van Wassenhove left for Rome. There is also a relationship with the work of
Dieric Bouts. sometimes called
The Last Supper) for the Confraternity of Corpus Domini in Urbino shows some adaptations from the characteristically Netherlandish high viewpoint and decoratively organized surface of the Calvary Triptych. Van Wassenhove also increased the size of the figures relative to the picture space. The work cites Dieric Bouts'
The Martyrdom of St Erasmus in the figure of the Persian envoy. An enlarged version of the
Communion of the Apostles shows that Jesus Christ is depicted with light rays originating from his head which is also surrounded by a circular aureola both of which constitute a
halo. All other works attributed to Joos van Wassenhove were painted on commission by Federico da Montefeltro. with an
armillary sphere model
, from the Famous men'' series A series of 28 portraits of
Famous men, which are still in existence and part of the collections of the Louvre and the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche in Urbino, have been attributed to Joos van Wassenhove. There are many arguments for such attribution. The paintings appear to be made by a painter grounded in Netherlandish technique who had become strongly influenced by Italian painting. In addition, in his biography of Federico da Montefeltro, his former librarian, Vespasiano da Bisticci, attests that van Wassenhove made the series of 28 portraits of
Famous men. Technological examination of the
Famous men has revealed similarities of these works with the other important earlier commission that van Wassenhove completed for the duke in Urbino, i.e. the
Communion of the Apostles. The underdrawing showed that there was stylistic continuity between these works. The examination also disclosed a number of changes in composition and execution, which may point to a reworking by another artist. The attribution to van Wassenhove of some or all of the works in the
Famous men series has not received unanimous support. Various other artists have been proposed as the author of the
Famous men series, of whom the Spanish painter
Pedro Berruguete has received strong support. The case for Berruguete rests on various arguments including the mention of a 'Pietro Spagnuolo pittore' in Urbino in 1477, a reference to the
Famous men by
Pablo de Cespedes dating from 1604, which could be regarded as an attribution to Berruguete (although Cespedes specifically stated that they were by a Spanish painter 'other' than Berruguete), the depiction of a Spanish-language book in a painting in the series and stylistic similarities with later works of Berruguete. Although the matter of attribution is still unresolved the known pictures of this Spanish artist are inferior in style and technique to those in the
Famous men series and are unlikely the work of the same artist. Further attributed to Joos van Wassenhove are two paintings from a series on the liberal arts:
Music and
Rhetoric (both at the
National Gallery London). Two other paintings from this series were destroyed during
World War II. ==Works==