Carved and originally polychromed. The reverse is slightly finished.

Segments of both ropes are missing. A large, lengthy crack can be discerned on Christ’s right flank, with additional cracks across his left hand, in the crown of thorns and on his right heel. A large crack in the left hand has been filled with wax. The polychromy has been removed with a caustic.

…; ? Belgium;¹¹Note RMA. from the dealer J. Aalderink, Amsterdam, fl. 1,750, to the museum, 1955; on loan to the Museum voor Religieuze Kunst, Uden, 2005-12

Object number: BK-1955-83

Christ is depicted awaiting his crucifixion on Mount Golgotha. Deep in thought, he sits on a rectangular-shaped rock, with his hands and feet bound with rope. Draped over his lap down to his feet is the so-called ‘mocking robe’ and on his head he wears the crown of thorns: attributes forced upon him when taunted as ‘King of the Jews’ by his tormentors. The type of Christ in Distress does not derive from the Bible,²²For comparable sculptures and the iconography, see for example G. von der Osten, ‘Christus im Elend, ein niederdeutsches Andachtsbild’, Westfalen 30 (1952), pp. 185-98; W.H.T. Knippenberg, ‘Enige beelden van ‘Christus op de koude steen’’, Brabantia 10 (1961), pp. 35-43; R. Didier, ‘Christ attendant la mort au Calvarie et Pieta, deux sculptures Anversoises coervées à Binche: problèmes de datation et d’iconographie’, Bulletin de la Commission Royale des Monuments et des Sites, 14 (1963), pp. 53-75; P. Quarré, Le Christ de Pitié: Brabant-Bourgogne autour de 1500, exh. cat. Dijon (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne) 1971. but is most likely an iconographic invention arising toward the end of the late fourteenth century as part of the broad Passion devotion in northern Germany practiced at that time. During the last quarter of the fifteenth and the first quarter of the sixteenth century, this type of devotional sculpture was also vastly popular in Brabant, which the numerous examples still found today in churches and chapels in this region affirm. Smaller-scale works such as the present figure were presumably chiefly intended for private devotions. The production of this kind of small Andachtsbilder was greatly stimulated by lay devotion, which grew quite vigorously in the late Middle Ages. The subject of Christ contemplating his inevitable death on the cross as depicted in these works served ideally to evoke empathy with his suffering (compassio), resulting in the beholder’s experience of a deeply felt personal exchange (communio).

The present Christ in Distress is much in line with the established, Brussels prototype that was widely adopted in Brabant and the surrounding regions: Christ appears seated on a rectangular-shaped rock, either nude or wearing nothing more than a loincloth and with his arms and legs bound with a thick rope. His head is turned downward and to the right. The mocking robe wraps around his waist and lap, falling down over the stone where it comes to rest on the ground beneath his feet, draped in erratic folds. In most cases, this is where one also finds the nail block at his feet on the left and the skull of Golgotha on the right. Such details, however, are absent here. Among the most impressive examples of Christ in Distress are the monumental sculptures at the Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune (possibly to be identified as the prototype of this group),³³J. Crab, Het laatgotische beeldsnijcentrum Leuven, exh. cat. Leuven (Stedelijk Museum Leuven) 1979, p. 226. the Art and History Museum in Brussels, and the Museum M in Leuven (fig. a).⁴⁴See P. Quarré, Le Christ de Pitié: Brabant-Bourgogne autour de 1500, exh. cat. Dijon (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne) 1971, plates 1, 7 and 3 respectively. See also J. Crab, Het laatgotische beeldsnijcentrum Leuven, exh. cat. Leuven (Stedelijk Museum Leuven) 1979, no. IX-10; M. Debaene, K. Goubert and E. Sciot (eds.), M collecties beeldhouwkunst, coll. cat. Leuven (Museum M), 2014, p. 58; J.W. Steyaert et al., Late Gothic Sculpture: The Burgundian Netherlands, exh. cat. Ghent (Museum of Fine Arts) 1994, p. 154; A. Huysmans et al., Beeldhouwkunst van de Zuidelijke Nederlanden en het Prinsbisdom Luik, coll. cat. Brussels (Royal Museums for Art and History) 1999, no. 29. The latter originates from the Sint-Jacobskerk in Leuven. These high-quality statues can be dated around 1510-15 and have recently been attributed to the Borman family of sculptors in Brussels, which had strong ties with Leuven.⁵⁵M. Debaene (ed.), Borman: A Family of Northern Renaissance Sculptors, London/Turnhout 2019, pp. 48, 60, nos. 94-97. The sculpture from the Sint-Jacobskerk in Leuven was traditionally attributed to a local Leuven sculptor. It is often compared to inferior carvings attributed to the so-called Master of Christ on the Cold Stone (Meester van Christus op de Koude Steen), thought to have been active in Leuven. For a description of works belonging to this group and their shared characteristics, see Crab 1977, pp. 243-47, 266 and nos. LB/28 to LB/32; J. Crab, Het laatgotische beeldsnijcentrum Leuven, exh. cat. Leuven (Stedelijk Museum Leuven) 1979, pp. 214-16 and nos. IX.1-9.

The subtle, mannerist details to be observed in the present Christ in Distress – such as the unusually sharp tilting of Christ’s head and the slightly bent little finger of the left hand – betray a later date of origin (circa 1520-30). Yet numerous stylistic similarities to the aforementioned monumental works are undeniable, even if less expertly finished. The corporeal type – round shoulders and a gradual transition between the rib cage and abdomen – is comparable to that of these statues, while Christ’s hands and feet possess the same veiny detail. The sculpture also shares the characteristic of the fairly rigid locks of hair falling down the front of Christ’s shoulders. Nevertheless, a conclusive localization in Brabant proves elusive. The round facial type with crow’s feet around the eyes deviates too markedly from the known types produced in the woodcarving centres of that region.

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 136, with earlier literature; L.W. Nichols, The Paintings of Hendrick Goltzius, 1558-1617: a Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné, Doornspijk 2013, p. 112

B. van der Mark, 2024, 'anonymous, Christ in Distress, Southern Netherlands, c. 1520 - c. 1530', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20014990