Notes from Martin Warnke, The Court Artist: on the Ancestry of the Modern Artist:

p. 111 Even as a simple servant, the artist was "pars corporis regis", a part of the royal body, with a share in its destiny. The relation of master and servant ended upon the death of the prince: when the prince died, the servant died too, as it were.

p. 113 The most important court regulations were drawn up by Olivier de la March master of ceremonies to Charles the Bold, at the request of the King of England and continued to be observed at many European courts. They contain two brief references to painters: along with barbers, tailors, hosiers, upholsterers and other servants, they are listed among forty kinds of court employees and assigned the following task: "Les paintres font les cottes d'armes, banieres et estandards'. Elsewhere it is stated that, although the painters paint the arms and standards kept by the herald of arms, they are not subordinate to him: "Mais les paintres qui les font sont varletz de chambre, et n'ont que faire à luy pour leur mestier....

p. 114 Although the prince could promote or dismiss them at will, there was a mutual obligation of loyalty, as well as a formal framework that regulated the opportunities for gaining privileges. Court artists had repeated opportunities to rise in the hierarchy, and these gradually became a feature of their employment.

The earliest means that was employed to distinguish the artist from other court servants was the conferment of the title familiaris or valet de chambre. As a rule these were honorary titles that brought the holder into close contact with the prince, setting him apart from the court as a whole and drawing him into the familia domestica that attended to the prince's well-being.....

p. 117 [The term valet de chambre] indicates a relationship of personal service founded on trust. In accordance with court ceremonial it afforded the holder easy access to the prince. He was provided with superior clothes so that he could cut a better figure in public. The title was bestowed on hom "pour lui aider à s'entretenier son estat, en son service' -- in other words, so that he could hold himself in readiness for service. Appointments as a valet de chambre entailed a special oath and carried special emoluments over and above the painter's regularly salary.

p. 124: Like all other court servants, the artist was usually paid a guaranteed salary. Through this the prince met his responsibility for the welfare of his servant, who was bound to him by oath. The recurrent formula "pour soy entretenir plus honnestement en son service" or "as a reward for his service" shows that this payment was a form of "expenses" and that the service for which it was paid could be regarded as honorary. The admission of the artist to the established system of court remuneration placed him personally in the hierarchy of the prince's household, but special conditions applied to any works he produced, which as a result were not subject of normal market forces.

p. 125: Once received into the court family, the artist might enjoy benefits adequate to all his material needs, being remunerated in money and in kind. As regards payment in kind, it was of some consequence for the history of art that when the artist became a member of the household the prince had to provide him with suitable accommodation. In Burgundy about 1400 a house was made available not far from the castle and inhabited in turn by Jean de Marville, Claus Sluter, and Claus de Werve. The artist's right to accomodation, which was met by the gift of a house or contributions towards the purchase or building of one, provided him with domestic security.

In 1369 Jean de Bondol received a house in Paris from the king, as did "Pol", the "peintre de duc" (perhaps identified with Paul Limbourg), from the Duc de Berry....

p. 128: Among the benefits in kind was a regular allocation of clothing. Even where court etiquette did not prescribe specific forms of dress, a member of the court household was expected to be recognizable as such in the world outside. In Burgundy in 1378 thirty francs were allocated to Jean de Beaumetz, 'paintre et vallet de chambre', 'pour lui vestir et estre honorablement en service de Mgr....'

p. 130: The court's responsibility for the artist's well-being included the service of the ruler's apothecaries and physicians, as he was notionally a member of the family. By the same token the prince gave him presents when he married, was godfather to one of his children and provided a dowry for his daughter on her marriages....

p. 132: While the various forms of remuneration in kind were designed to meet the material needs of the court servant, pecuniary emoluments were less standardized and depended on an assessment of the artist's personal merit....

Artists were basically craftsmen.... To obtain an appointment with a fixed annual salary represented a great professional advancement....

p. 134: Lifelong provision gave court service a special character that had significant consequences for the court artist. He was paids, not for services rendered, but for his readiness to serve whenever he was required to. A cook or tailor could be expected to give daily evidence fo his skill. But artists had no regular tasks to perform. If they were granted a salary, their only obligation was to hold their talent in readiness until it was called upon. Deeds of appointment did not lay down the artist's obligation to carry out particular tasks, but expressed the expectation that his services would be available when required and that he would perform his task "to the best of his ability, as a diligent and loyal subject"....

Van Eyck was given a salary "affin qu'il soit tenu de ouvrer pour lui [the duke] de painture toutes les fois qu'il plaira"; in 1427 "tant pour considéracion des bons et agréables services qu'il luy a faitz, tant au fait de son dit office, comme autrement, et pour l'aidier et soutenir et avoir ses nécessitez, afin plus honorablement il le puist servir."