Landscape with Two Horsemen and Four Standing Figures, from a Calvary

Carved in relief and originally polychromed. The entire relief has been carved from a single woodblock, to which six small, separately carved ‘landscape pieces’– not belonging to the original retable – were later added. The bottom zone was left partly flat in front. In its original context, this unworked section was concealed behind the relief below it.

The rearmost section of the left-hand horse is missing, as well as sections of both spears held by each of the two horsemen, part of the stirrup on the right-hand horse, the right thumb of the right-hand Pharisee and sections of the landscape. The polychromy has been removed with a caustic, with only several traces remaining on the rocks above the heads of the figures in the lower zone. Six small, poorly fitting wood pieces have been added to the foremost part of the ground that separates the upper and lower zones. Discernible on these pieces are the disproportionally small feet of horses and figures, thus confirming they were not originally part of this relief. Given the Antwerp hand branded on three of the six ground pieces, it may be concluded that they originally belonged to other Antwerp retable reliefs, if not the same altarpiece as the present scene.

…; from the collection A.P. Hermans-Smits (1822-1897), Eindhoven, with numerous other objects (BK-NM-2001 to -2800), fl. 14,000 for all, to the Nederlandsch Museum voor Geschiedenis en Kunst, The Hague, 1875; transferred to the museum, 1885; on loan to Castle Doornenburg, Doornenburg, 2011-14

ObjectNumber: BK-NM-2476

This retable fragment formed part of the central caisse of a Passion retable featuring a Calvary scene. Depicted are events taking place below the cross, divided into two levels by an overhanging rock formation. Two horsemen in the upper zone gaze up in the direction of the crucified figure of Christ on the cross that originally stood between them. On the left, Longinus holds (what little remains of) a spear in his left hand, while bringing the two fingers of his right hand to one eye, a gesture signalling his blindness. Branded on his headdress is the Antwerp hand, the city’s guild mark of wood quality control. Appearing in the lower zone are two holy women on the left and two Pharisees on the right. These figures originally formed the background of the retable groups positioned one level below. These lower groups – which concealed the unworked, flat bottom section of the present relief – were typically the Lamentation and the Soldiers Casting Lots for Christ’s Garments, positioned respectively left and right. Together, all three groups form a frequently recurring structure in Antwerp retable production, with examples such as a retable group in the Art and History Museum in Brussels (c. 1520-20) and the fully preserved Passion altarpieces in Den Bosch (c. 1510-20) and Neerharen (c. 1525-30).¹¹A. Huysmans et al., Beeldhouwkunst van de Zuidelijke Nederlanden en het Prinsbisdom Luik, coll. cat. Brussels (Royal Museums for Art and History) 1999, no. 85 (ill. on p. 166); H. Nieuwdorp (ed.), Antwerp Altarpieces 15th-16th centuries, 2 vols., exh. cat. Antwerp (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) 1993, vol. 1, nos. 7 and 11 respectively.

Six small, reused wood-carved pieces have been added to the protruding part of the landscape of the upper level, three of which are branded with the Antwerp hand. They also bear small feet and hooves of missing figures and horses. These fragments were evidently taken from other, smaller groups from one or more other Antwerp retables, or perhaps even the very same altarpiece. The lowest compartment and the concave figural frames around the main scenes of Antwerp altarpieces often housed groups of a smaller size. Just as with the aforementioned retable group in Brussels, these pieces replace a separately carved, protruding section of the grassy mound, which in the case of the present relief, was eventually lost.

The figures’ clothing and poses, but also the overall style, indicate that we are dealing with a work from around 1515-25. Leeuwenberg also pointed out the overtly jutting chin of the Pharisee below at the right, a facial characteristic commonly adopted in these years, as can be observed in the graphic work of Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533) and on a comparable figure in a contemporaneous Antwerp retable group, also held in the Rijksmuseum collection (BK-NM-2475).²²J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, p. 139.

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 152, with earlier literature

B. van der Mark, 2024, 'anonymous, Landscape with Two Horsemen and Four Standing Figures, from a Calvary, Antwerp, c. 1515 - c. 1525', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.24430