Carved and originally polychromed. The reverse has been hollowed out with flat sides, indicating that the hole was probably closed off with a board.

Badly worm-eaten and decayed. The bottom of the figure has been sawn off. Both hands, the attribute and parts of the tiara are missing. The nose, lips and eyes are damaged.

…; found in the Oude Kerk, Soest, with several other objects (BK-NM-12006-1 to -19), 1905;¹¹W. Vogelsang, ‘Vondst te Soest’, Bulletin van de Nederlandschen Oudheidkundigen Bond 4 (1905), pp. 187-96, pp. 190-91; J. Kalf, ‘Een belangrijke vondst’, Het huis, oud en nieuw. Maandelijks prentenboek gewijd aan huis, inrichting, bouw- en sierkunst 3 (1905), pp. 289-301. donated by the municipality of Soest to the museum, 1907; on loan to the Museum Flehite, Amersfoort, 1909-80

Object number: BK-NM-12006-2

Restoration work in the tower of the Oude Kerk in Soest in 1905 uncovered in a bricked-up area an important treasure trove of statues, albeit in a deplorable condition.²²These objects have been donated to the Rijksmuseum in 1907, see inv. nos. BK-NM-12006-1 to -19. It is assumed that the figures were hidden there either in 1566 at the outbreak of the Iconoclasm or in December 1580, when Calvinists in the Eemland region endeavoured to destroy every last remnant of religious art.³³K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. p. 3.

Among the items found was this figure of an anonymous Holy Pope which has been cut off abruptly below the elbows. The pope may have been holding a book or making a gesture of blessing with one of his missing hands. Since this is the only known half-length statue of this kind, it is probably a fragment of what was once a standing or seated figure (cf. BK-NM-28 and BK-NM-11537).⁴⁴J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, p. 65. The pope wears a surplice, with an amice standing out above it. Over this he wears a cope fastened with a band. He wears a papal tiara with pendant lappets. According to Vogelsang the figure’s face was deliberately damaged by iconoclasts.⁵⁵W. Vogelsang, ‘Vondst te Soest’, Bulletin van de Nederlandschen Oudheidkundigen Bond 4 (1905), pp. 187-96, esp. p. 188. Leeuwenberg believes that the absence of the lower part is confirmation of this.⁶⁶J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, p. 65.

The figure is blocky and rather stiff. It was probably made in the sculpture centre of Utrecht, near Soest. Leeuwenberg attributed a figure of a Holy Priest (BK-NM-12006-7), likewise found in Soest, which Bouvy convincingly dated between around 1500 and 1520,⁷⁷D.P.R.A. Bouvy, Middeleeuwsche beeldhouwkunst in de Noordelijke Nederlanden, Amsterdam 1947, pp. 151-52. to the same hand.⁸⁸J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, p. 65. Despite the badly damaged state of that figure it is still evident that the characteristic faces of the two figures are indeed very alike. Both have large, deep-set, half-closed eyes with crow’s feet, deep creases in the skin from the nose to the corners of the mouth, and a wide mouth with a protruding lower lip. The amice worn by both men is wrapped around the neck in the same way.

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

D.P.R.A. Bouvy, Middeleeuwsche beeldhouwkunst in de Noordelijke Nederlanden, Amsterdam 1947, pp. 151-52; J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 25, with earlier literature; A. de Rijk, ‘Laat-middeleeuwse heiligenbeelden uit het Gooi’, Bulletin Stichting Oude Hollandse Kerken 39 (1994), pp. 15-24, esp. p. 22; B. Nederveen, Soest, tussen Amersfoort en Utrecht. Een studie naar de herkomst van de laatgotische sculptuur uit de Hervormde Kerk te Soest, Amsterdam 1999 (unpub. thesis University of Amsterdam), pp. 21, 98-100D.P.R.A. Bouvy, Middeleeuwsche beeldhouwkunst in de Noordelijke Nederlanden, Amsterdam 1947, pp. 151-52; J. Leeuwenberg, assisted by W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 25, with earlier literature; A. de Rijk, ‘Laat-middeleeuwse heiligenbeelden uit het Gooi’, Bulletin Stichting Oude Hollandse Kerken 39 (1994), pp. 15-24, esp. p. 22; B. Nederveen, Soest, tussen Amersfoort en Utrecht. Een studie naar de herkomst van de laatgotische sculptuur uit de Hervormde Kerk te Soest, Amsterdam 1999 (unpub. thesis University of Amsterdam), pp. 21, 98-100