The Swoon of the Virgin, from the Calvary Scene of the Soest Altarpiece

Carved and originally polychromed. The figures stand on an integrally carved, rising ground with Tremolierung carved with a curved gouge. Remnants of yellow polychromy have been found on the skull and on the inside of the Virgin’s cloak, as well as blue on the outside of the cloak, green on St John’s cloak, red on his undergarment and remnants of gilding on the Virgin’s underdress.

K. Aben et al., ‘Conservering van de beelden van Soest’, Bulletin Centraal Laboratorium voor onderzoek van voorwerpen en kunst en wetenschap 1977, pp. 93-105

Badly worm-eaten and decayed, so that the piece has survived only in fragmentary condition.

...; 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

ObjectNumber: BK-NM-12006-11

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 carvings were five small oak groups and a number of loose fragments that together belonged to a large Passion altarpiece. All that survived of the altar case were a few wooden consoles and lead ornaments. In all probability the altarpiece consisted of a case in the shape of an inverted T, with seven compartments for as many scenes from Christ’s Passion. The case must have been around four metres wide overall and between 155 and 180 centimetres high.⁴⁴Cf. the reconstruction by Van der Mark in M. Leeflang et al., Middeleeuwse beelden uit Utrecht: 1430-1530/Mittelalterliche Bildwerke aus Utrecht: 1430-1530, exh. cat. Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent)/Aachen (Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum) 2012-13, pp. 218-19 (ill.), based on K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. p. 11 and B. Nederveen, ‘Het passieretabel van Soest. Kanttekeningen bij een reconstructie’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 52 (2004), pp. 270-81, esp. p. 270. There was tracery (openwork gothic ornament) above the altar groups. The placement of the scenes followed the chronology of the Passion story, with the Calvary, as usual, in the larger, central caisse or compartment. To the left of this scene was the Agony in the Garden (BK-NM-12006-15-C), the Flagellation (BK-NM-12006-13) and Christ Carrying the Cross (BK-NM-12006-15-B), with the Entombment (BK-NM-12006-12) and Christ’s Descent into Limbo (BK-NM-12006-14) on the right. The (unknown) seventh scene would have been a Descent from the Cross, Lamentation, Resurrection or Ascension.⁵⁵K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. p. 11. In view of the chronology, the Resurrection and Ascension would have been in the seventh caisse of the altar case, the other two in the fifth. No elements of either of these have been identified to date.

The altarpiece must originally have been exceptionally fine. Remnants of gold leaf and brocade patterns indicate that the whole thing was elaborately decorated, and the carefully worked details, lively expressions and interaction between the figures attest to a very high standard of artistry. Countless style characteristics – such as the conspicuous lower eyelids of all the figures, the realism in their faces, the generally quite tight garments with few folds and the anecdotal nature of the scenes – are strong indications that the altar was created in the last quarter of the fifteenth century in the sculpture centre of Utrecht, not far from Soest.

Broekhuijsen-Kruijer gave the anonymous maker of the altar the provisional name of Master of the Soest Altarpiece. According to Leeuwenberg, two apostle figures that were also found in the church (BK-NM-12006-6 and BK-NM-12006-9) were ‘in all likelihood by the same hand’. He saw similarities in ‘the eyes and the face, the rather thickset forms, and the whole character’.⁶⁶J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, pp. 61-62. However, the inconsistent style of the folds of the garments and the different handling of hair and beards – slightly wavy in the altar fragments as opposed to curly in the apostle statues – do not support this attribution.

As Van Binnebeke pointed out, an Ecce Homo group in Rotterdam, which he dated to around 1500 and located in Utrecht, with reservations, is stylistically akin to the Soest Altarpiece.⁷⁷Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, inv. no. N24a, see Van Binnebeke in P. van Dael et al., Hout- en steensculptuur. Beeldhouwkunst 1200-1800 in de collectie van het Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 1994, no. 54. The same soft-top boots, pointed shoes and rosette clasps are found in both pieces, as are the wispy hair and the variety of realistic and grotesque facial expressions. The quality of the Soest Altarpiece is superior, however.

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

This retable group is part of the Calvary scene from the Soest Altarpiece.⁹⁹See Context for general information about this altarpiece and an analysis of the style. The following fragments of this scene – which was in the large caisse in the centre of the altar – have survived: the left section, shown here, with the Swoon of the Virgin, the crucified Christ’s pierced right foot (fig. a), and a separate fragment with a soldier looking up from the section to the right of the cross (BK-NM-12006-15-A).¹⁰¹⁰Nederveen demonstrated that the fragment with the other soldier (BK-NM-12006-15-B) should not be regarded as part of the Calvary group, as Broekhuijsen-Kruijer believed, but belonged to Christ Carrying the Cross. B. Nederveen, ‘Het passieretabel van Soest. Kanttekeningen bij een reconstructie’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 52 (2004), pp. 270-81, esp. pp. 272-73; K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. p. 6. As usual in the Calvary scenes in large and medium-sized Passion altars, there would also have been one or more horsemen in the group. This is confirmed by a fragment of a horse’s leg and hoof that belonged to the altar (fig. b).

The Swoon group consists of a fainting Virgin in a loose robe, supported by St John the Evangelist (both heads are missing). The apostle wears a red cloak with yellow patterns; a rosary with large beads hangs from his belt. In the right foreground lies a skull, a permanent element in Calvary scenes. On the far left stands a weeping woman wearing a cap and chin-band. She is probably one of the Virgin’s half-sisters, Mary Cleophas or Mary Salome. Her sorrowful face, with slanted eyes and large nose, is strikingly similar to the less well preserved face of the Virgin Mary in the Entombment (BK-NM-12006-12).

In terms of the positioning of these three principal figures, the group corresponds to a print by the Master of the Berlin Passion and a fragment of a Utrecht Calvary made of polychromed pipeclay in Rotterdam.¹¹¹¹Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, inv. no. 1054 B, see P. van Dael et al., Hout- en steensculptuur. Beeldhouwkunst 1200-1800 in de collectie van het Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 1994, no. 53; for the print, see M. Lehrs, Geschichte und kritischer Katalog des deutschen, niederländischen und französischen Kupferstichs im XV. Jahrhundert, Vienna 1908-34, no. 30. In the badly decayed group from Soest, however, there were originally at least two additional figures in the scene. To the left of the lamenting woman there is a small remnant of a garment with pressed brocade. This would probably be the garment of the Virgin’s other half-sister.¹²¹²K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. pp. 5-6. A photograph taken in 1905 (fig. c) also shows loose, flowing hair and deeply carved, fur-trimmed sleeve opening , remnants of a Mary Magdalene figure seen from behind on St John’s right side.¹³¹³K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. p. 5.

The soldier from the right-hand section of the Soest Calvary scene turns towards the cross, now missing. He wears a turban and a paltock with armour over it, top and bottom parts held together with a strap and buckle on the back and a sash worn low on the hips. He also wears poleyns, hose and high boots. This may be Longinus, who pierced Christ’s side with a spear. There is a pair of feet on the rocks in the background and another foot in a pointed shoe on the right. They indicate the presence of at least two more figures.

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 23a, with earlier literature; Jaarverslag Nederlandse Rijksmusea (1976), p. 17; K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16; P. van Dael et al., Hout- en steensculptuur. Beeldhouwkunst 1200-1800 in de collectie van het Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 1994, p. 85; 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. 13-14, 93-96; J.H.M. Hilhorst and J.G.M. Hilhorst, Soest, Hees en De Birkt. Van de achtste tot de zeventiende eeuw, Hilversum 2001, pp. 239-40, 260, 278; B. Nederveen, ‘Het passieretabel van Soest. Kanttekeningen bij een reconstructie’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 52 (2004), pp. 270-81; Van der Mark in M. Leeflang et al., Middeleeuwse beelden uit Utrecht: 1430-1530/Mittelalterliche Bildwerke aus Utrecht: 1430-1530, exh. cat. Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent)/Aachen (Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum) 2012-13, no. 25d; J. Groenveld, ‘De Sint-Jansverering in een Sint-Vitusparochie voor 1580’, Tussen Vecht en Eem: Tijdschrift voor regionale geschiedenis 35 (2017), pp. 213-25, esp. p. 220

B. van der Mark, 2024, 'Meester van het retabel van Soest, The Swoon of the Virgin, from the Calvary Scene of the Soest Altarpiece, Utrecht, c. 1475 - c. 1500', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.24281