St Augustine Sacrificing to a Manichaean Idol (?)

attributed to Aert van den Bossche, c. 1480

A lamb and a goat are sacrificed to a golden idol in a temple in the heart of a Late Gothic town. The kneeling priest might be St Augustine, the Church Father who in his youth had embraced Manichaeism. However, after converting to Christianity, he fervently refuted this once widespread early religion. Made in Brussels, the panel probably was part of an altarpiece or series of paintings featuring scenes from Augustine’s life.

Artwork typepainting
Object numberSK-A-2057
Dimensionsframe: height 118 cm x width 89.5, sight size: height 97 cm x width 68 cm, support: height 97.3 cm x width 68.5 cm
Physical characteristicsoil on panel

St Augustine Sacrificing to a Manichaean Idol (?)

Identification

Title(s)
- St Augustine Sacrificing to a Manichaean Idol (?)
- Augustine Sacrificing to an Idol of the Manichaeans (?)
Object type
Object number
SK-A-2057
Description
Augustinus offert aan een afgod der Manicheeërs. De bisschop knielt buiten bij een kapelletje waarin een schaap en een geit worden geofferd voor een afgodsbeeld. In de kapel twee mannen met bazuinen, buiten kijkt een groep mannen toe.
Inscriptions / marks
inscription, lower right, on the foot and rim of the pedestal: indecipherable text
Part of catalogue

Creation

Creation
- painter: attributed to Aert van den Bossche, Brussels
- painter: Meester van de Legende van de Heilige Barbara [rejected attribution]
Dating
c. 1480
Search further with

Material and technique

Physical description
oil on panel
Material
Dimensions
- frame: height 118 cm x width 89.5
- sight size: height 97 cm x width 68 cm
- support: height 97.3 cm x width 68.5 cm

This work is about

Subject

Acquisition and rights

Acquisition
purchase 1902
Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
…; Willem Aernout Kien van Citters (1723-1802), Middelburg, October 1787;{According to the catalogue for the anonymous sale, Amsterdam (F. Muller), 9 December 1902, no. 37.} …; collection Nicolaas Cornelis Lambrechtsen van Ritthem (1752-1823), Vlissingen and Middelburg; ? by whom bequeathed to the Tekenacademie, Middelburg, 1823; anonymous sale [? section Teeckenacademie, Middelburg], Amsterdam (F. Muller), 9 December 1902, no. 37, as Flemish school, late 15th century, fl. 5,900, to the museum;{Copy RKD.} on loan to the Mauritshuis, The Hague, since 1948

Documentation

Persistent URL

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200108904