Carved from a working block composed of two planks of wainscot (quarter-sawn), glued and nailed together. Polychromed. On the flat reverse side is an iron eye for securing purposes. Dendrochronological analysis has pointed out that the outermost growth rings in the wood date to the year 1478 (plank 1) and 1456 (plank 2). Due to the absence of sapwood it is not possible to give a more specific estimate felling date of the tree than ‘after 1684’ (plank 1) and ‘after 1462’ (plank 2). The timber originates from the eastern Baltic region (likely around Klaipeda in the northwest of current Lithuania).

The polychromy is probably of a later date.

…; from the dealer M.J. Schretlen, Amsterdam, fl. 3,000, to the museum, 1946; on loan to Castle Doornenburg, 2011-14

Object number: BK-15624

St Mary Magdalene wears a mantle with amply draped folds over her slender bodice. Thick, long locks of hair emerge from the bourrelet on her head. The lengthy liripipe winds its way down via her right shoulder, falling into her left hand halfway up with its end extending to the level of the knees. Only her attribute betrays her conversion to a new way of life: the ointment jar, the lid of which she raises with her right hand.

This figure typifies the late-medieval trend of depicting saints – especially Mary Magdalene, renowned for her ‘worldly’ past – as prominent members of society clad in rich, contemporary attire.¹¹Z. van Ruyven-Zeman, Geloof in Beelden: Middeleeuwse beeldhouwwerken in het Maasland, exh. cat. Maastricht (Bonnefantenmuseum) 1984, no. 31. Comparable in type, though artistically far superior, is a statue of a sumptuously dressed St Barbara in the church of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Rijke Klaren in Brussels, made locally around 1520.²²See KIK-IRPA, object no. 20008492. The present figure also originates from that city, as is confirmed by the presence of the Brussels wood quality mark: a mallet.

Given its modest scale and flat reverse side, this figure was likely intended for an altarpiece. It has been carved from a working block that comprises two high-quality oak planks – also known as wainscot – glued and nailed together. Sawn with the tree rings aligned perpendicular to the lumber (quarter-sawn), wainscot planks are less susceptible to warping and splitting, making them an ideal medium for wood-carved sculptures exposed to changing climate conditions, e.g. during long-distance transport.³³M. Leeflang et al., Middeleeuwse beelden uit Utrecht 1430-1530/Mittelalterliche Bildwerke aus Utrecht, exh. cat. Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent)/Aachen (Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum) 2012-13, p. 142. The use of wainscot therefore possibly suggests the present statuette was intended for the export market. Brabantine woodcarvings, especially in the form of retables, were dispersed across much of Europe via the port of Antwerp, with Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Poland and France being the chief selling markets.

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 135, with earlier literature; Z. van Ruyven-Zeman, Geloof in Beelden: Middeleeuwse beeldhouwwerken in het Maasland, exh. cat. Maastricht (Bonnefantenmuseum) 1984, no. 31

B. van der Mark, 2024, 'anonymous, Mary Magdalene, Brussels, c. 1520', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20014989