Eighteen Scenes from the Life of Christ, known as the Roermond Passion

The support consists of a canvas which was laid down, probably at a later stage, on a panel composed of nine uneven horizontal oak planks, measuring approx. 9-15 cm, and approx. 0.85-1.5 cm thick. The panel has been reinforced by two small blocks of wood and five vertical cross-laths, all probably added at a later date. Traces of the mounting of a former (original?) frame can be seen on the reverse, where both the left and right sides of the panel are irregularly bevelled, with round holes for dowels. It was not possible to date the panel with dendrochronology. The panel is now mounted in a late 19th-century frame, probably designed by P.J.H. Cuypers, which covers the probably unpainted edges (approx. 3-4 cm) on all sides (painted surface: 103.1 x 165.8 cm; each scene: approx. 33 x 27.5 cm.). There is probably a white ground, and there are no traces of a barbe. It appears that the canvas was painted before it was attached to the panel. This panel seems to be larger than the canvas, and may have been partly covered by the original frame. An extensive underdrawing is visible to the naked eye and with infrared reflectography. The broad brushstrokes in a wet medium follow the outlines, and in some of the figures there is hatching to indicate shadows. Hardly any changes were made in the final painting stage. The clouds indicated in the underdrawing around the ascending Christ in The Ascension and around the Holy Ghost in the scene of Pentecost cannot be seen in the final painting. The donor, depicted in The Lamentation, was placed over the underdrawing of the scene, although this figure is also underdrawn. The paint layer seems to consist of tempera as well as oil paint, and is traditionally described as ‘glue-paint’. This however cannot be established without further research of the paint layer and analysis of the binding media.

Poor. The panel is slightly convex. Much of the paint layer is lifting. There is a great deal of abrasion, heavily discoloured retouchings, and several old layers of discoloured varnish.

? Commissioned by Bela van Mirlaer van Millendonck, Cistercian convent, Roermond;¹¹Hoogewerff 1954, p. 194. …; inventory, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Munsterkerk, Roermond, 1831 (‘achter den hoogen autaar bevind zich eenen gothykschen autaar. Waarschijnlijk is deze van de eerste stichting der kerk voortskomende’);²²Transcribed in Venner 1989, p. 75. Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Munsterkerk, Roermond, 1876;³³Havard 1876, p. 415. ? Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Munsterkerk, North Gallery, Roermond, 1879;⁴⁴Described in a letter from I. Gosschalk and J.G. van den Bergh to the Minister of Internal Affairs, 27 December 1879; transcribed in Venner 1989, p. 75. from the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Munsterkerk, Roermond on loan to the Nederlandsch Museum voor Geschiedenis en Kunst, The Hague (inv. no. 4843), 1880; from the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Munsterkerk, Roermond, fl. 800, to the museum, 1889

ObjectNumber: SK-A-1491

This panel with 18 chronological scenes from Christ’s earliest years and his Passion is from Roermond Minster. The scenes are spread over three rows of six each. In the top row are The Annunciation, The Nativity with The Annunciation to the Shepherds in the background, The Circumcision, The Adoration of the Magi and The Presentation in the Temple. The Entry into Jerusalem, which closes off the top row, marks the start of the Passion. In the next row are The Last Supper, Christ in Gethsemane, The Arrest of Christ, Christ before Pilate, The Crowning with Thorns and The Flagellation. The bottom row represents the Passion, Resurrection, Ascension and descent of the Holy Ghost in the scenes of Christ Carrying the Cross, The Crucifixion, The Lamentation, The Resurrection with The Descent into Limbo in the background, The Ascension and Pentecost.⁵⁵For the subject of the life of Christ see Kirschbaum III, 1971, cols. 39-85. Each scene is set in a reddish brown painted border, while the two central scenes of The Arrest of Christ and Christ before Pilate have painted gemstones at each corner, making six in all. One striking detail is the insignia of the order of St Antony worn by Balthazar, one of the kings in The Adoration of the Magi. It could be the insignia of the Brotherhood of St Antony of Barbefosse, which is said to have been founded by Albrecht of Bavaria in 1382, and according to Gorissen was no longer distributed after 1430.⁶⁶Noordeloos 1949, pp. 488-89; verbal communication Gorissen 1965, recorded on the museum’s inventory card.

In The Lamentation in the bottom there is a prayer portrait of a female donor who can be identified as Bela Scheiffart van Merode from the coat of arms beside her. She and her husband, Johan van Mirlaer, Lord of Millendonck, are mentioned in a marriage settlement of 1378.⁷⁷Hoogewerff I, 1936, pp. 180-81; Hoogewerff 1954, p. 194; Venner 1989, p. 75. Their daughter, Bela van Mirlaer van Millendonck, is recorded in 1447 as abbess of the Cistercian convent in Roermond, of which the Minster alone now remains.⁸⁸Venner 1989, p. 75; Hoogewerff I, 1936, p. 180-81. It is not known when she was elected, but her predecessor, Maria van Driel, was still in office in 1439.⁹⁹Venner 1989, p. 74. Bela Scheiffart van Merode is depicted as a widow in her mourning clothes and with a black widow’s cap. It is not known when she died, but if this is a posthumous portrait, the painting may have been commissioned by her daughter, Bela van Mirlaer or another family member.¹⁰¹⁰Hoogewerff 1954, p. 194.

As Hoogewerff pointed out in 1936, this cycle is not the only one of its kind.¹¹¹¹Hoogewerff I, 1936, p. 182. Such series are mainly found in Cologne, where this visual type evolved between around 1380 and 1450. Other examples are The Life and Passion of Christ in 35 Scenes with the donor and his family of c. 1410-20 in Berlin, and Twelve Scenes from the Life of Christ on canvas of c. 1450-60 in Cologne (fig. a, fig. b).¹²¹²On this last painting see coll. cat. Cologne 1990, pp. 151-55. On the visual type see Zehnder in coll. cat. Cologne 1990, pp. 362-63. The function of paintings of this kind is not entirely clear, and also seems to vary, depending on the size and support.¹³¹³Zehnder in coll. cat. Cologne 1990, p. 152; Hoogewerff I, 1936, p. 183. Although Hoogewerff believed that the canvas of the Rijksmuseum work was intended from the outset to be attached to a panel, it is perfectly possible that the panel was only attached later and that the canvas support is a pointer to the painting’s original function.¹⁴¹⁴Hoogewerff 1954, p. 194. Traces left by hanging in similar Cologne Passion series on canvas indicate that they were only hung up on important religious feast days, giving them a function comparable to that of the so-called ‘Fastentücher’.¹⁵¹⁵For a definition of which see Schmitt VII, 1981, cols. 826-48. For their function in this context see Cologne 1990, pp. 363, 366. It is possible that the Rijksmuseum canvas was also hung up on 16 April, the day commemorating the death of Bela Scheiffart van Merode.¹⁶¹⁶Sivré 1876, p. 41; Venner 1989, p. 74. Hanging the canvas and then storing it away again may account for the poor condition of the paint layer.¹⁷¹⁷Since the painting cannot be removed from its frame without causing further damage to the painted surface, examination for traces of use is unfortunately impossible.

Winkler and later art historians have noted the direct or indirect influence of compositions by Jan van Eyck.¹⁸¹⁸Winkler 1923, p. 139; Hoogewerff I, 1936, pp. 184-85; Gerson 1950, p. 8. For example, The Annunciation has clear compositional similarities to the outer wings of the Ghent Altarpiece.¹⁹¹⁹Illustrated in ENP I, 1967, pl. 11. The resemblance of the other scenes to similar works from Cologne, such as the Twelve Scenes from the Life of Christ (fig. b), and the influence that Van Eyck and his contemporaries also exerted in Germany, make it likely that these Flemish models were known indirectly to the artist of the present painting. In addition, the compositions, especially those set in an interior, are very comparable to those in Gelderland and Utrecht miniatures, such as the ones in the Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves.²⁰²⁰ New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library; illustrated in Châtelet 1981, p. 205, fig. 170. These similarities and the provenance of this painting suggest that it could have been painted by a Gelderland artist who was familiar with painting in Cologne. Van Os’s assumption that he was a miniaturist seems less likely, since the iconography and form of the painting are anchored firmly in a painterly tradition.²¹²¹Van Os in Van Os et al. 2000, p. 22. The traditional dating between 1430 and 1440 is supported by the costumes and stylistic and compositional features.²²²²Hoogewerff I, 1936, p. 177, with further literature.

(J. Niessen)

Winkler 1923, pp. 136-39; Friedländer III, 1925, pp. 63, 113, no. 39; Hoogewerff I, 1936, pp. 177-88; Gerson 1950, p. 8; Hoogewerff 1954, pp. 194-95; Amsterdam 1958, no. 4; ENP III, 1968, pp. 37, 64, no. 39; Châtelet 1981, p. 208, no. 38; Venner 1989, pp. 70-75; Zehnder in coll. cat. Cologne, 1990, pp. 152-53; Van Os in Van Os et al. 2000, p. 22

1887, p. 66, no. 528 (as Dutch, 15th century); 1903, p. 5, no. 39 (as c. 1400); 1934, p. 5, no. 39 (as c. 1430); 1960, p. 5, no. 39 (as memorial tablet for Bela Scheiffart van Merode); 1976, p. 674, no. A 1491

J. Niessen, 2010, 'anonymous, Eighteen Scenes from the Life of Christ, known as the Roermond Passion, Maasland, c. 1435', in J.P. Filedt Kok (ed.), Early Netherlandish Paintings, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.8473