Female Saint

Carved and polychromed. The figure and the socle are carved from a single piece of wood. The reverse side is flat, with no more than a summary treatment of the hair and drapery folds and no moulding on the socle. Punched motifs (pointillé) and sgrafitto patterns have been applied to the gilding.

Minimal woodworm damage. The cross-shaped pendant on the necklace is missing, as are the bottom segment of the chain hanging from the waist, the left hand, several fingers on the right hand and the metal ornamentation on the socle. Much of the original polychromy and gilding survives intact. The mantle has been overpainted in red.

…; ? collection Pierre Cuypers (1827-1921), Amsterdam and Roermond;¹¹Inscription on the label on the reverse: Eigendom v.d. heer Cuypers. …; from the Koninklijk Oudheidkundig Genootschap, Amsterdam, on loan to the museum, since 1885

ObjectNumber: BK-KOG-653

Credit line: On loan from the Koninklijk Oudheidkundig Genootschap

Originally, this female saint held an object in her hands. Without the attribute, now missing together with the left hand and several fingers of the right hand, her identity can no longer be ascertained. Her downward gaze suggests the object might have been a book, the attribute of many female saints. Other attributes are also conceivable, such as the ointment jar of St Mary Magdalene or the tower of St Barbara. These are two of the most frequently depicted female saints in Southern Netherlandish sculpture of the sixteenth century, with both traditionally dressed in the rich and fashionable attire seen here.

The carving on this saintly statuette is exceptionally refined, with the original polychromy surviving largely intact. Due to a minimum of overpainting, details in the face and clothing are optimally preserved. The turban-like headdress (bourrelet), the pleated chemise visible above the trapezoidal neckline of the bodice and the slashed, puffy sleeves are characteristic of luxury women’s fashion from the early sixteenth century. Exotic details, referring to the Eastern origin of many of the female saints, include the palmette motif adorning the sleeve just below the left shoulder and the hem of the overskirt, which terminates at its lowest point in a conspicuously large tassel. The supple drapery folds of the figure’s mantle and dress are masterfully rendered. Various techniques have been employed to embellish the polychromy, which consists primarily of gilding: lines of pointillé on the bodice, forming a lozenge pattern and curls below the waist belt, and sgraffito for patterns on the dress, sleeves, bodice, mantle, and the curling flaps emerging from the bourrelet.²²For Southern Netherlandish polychromy and decoration techniques, see M. Serck-Dewaide, ‘Materialen, technieken en polychromie’, in M. Buyle and C. Vanthillo, Vlaamse en Brabantse retabels in Belgische monumenten, Brussels 2000, pp. 87-105. Rather intriguing is an object lying on the ground near the saint’s right foot. Ostensibly a small money purse composed of various parts, it was originally attached to the now missing end of the chain that hangs from the waist belt.³³Cf. the purses on Jost Amman’s woodcut Der Beutler, G. Seelig et al., The New Hollstein: German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts 1400-1700: Jost Amman: Book Illustrations, 10 vols., Rotterdam 2002-03, vol. 3, no. 50.35. Long sashes, cords or chains adorned with hanging tassels, purses, pomanders, or prayer nuts were common accessories in renaissance women’s fashion. Rarely are such objects depicted in this manner, however, almost as if being dragged across the ground. Perhaps the purse is therefore meant to convey a unique circumstance, albeit unclear.⁴⁴On a Brabantine St Barbara from around 1510, a round, golden object on the ground also hangs from a similar chain with rectangular links. Here too, the object’s precise nature remains uncertain. See A. Huysmans et al., Beeldhouwkunst van de Zuidelijke Nederlanden en het Prinsbisdom Luik, coll. cat. Brussels (Royal Museums for Art and History) 1999, no. 88, where said object is described as possibly being a mirror, or even a weight (to prevent escape).

Leeuwenberg tentatively attributed the present figure to a Mechelen workshop, noting that it was above all the socle – polygonal in form and originally ornamented with metal rosettes – that reminded him of the saintly statuettes known as poupées de Malines (Mechelen dolls).⁵⁵J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 175. Lending support to this theory is the walnut from which the carving was made, a wood type commonly used primarily in Mechelen, see M. Buyle and C. Vanthillo, Vlaamse en Brabantse retabels in Belgische monumenten, Brussels 2000, p. 94. Normally, however, the socles accompanying these statuettes were not carved as integral components of the rest, as is the case here. Furthermore, the present figure deviates substantially from the serially produced Mechelen figures, with their disproportionately large, domed heads, the skewed and wide-spaced eyes, and the diminutive, sweetly smiling mouths. The present saint displays none of these characteristics: she is beautifully proportioned and has a perfectly oval face, with dreamy eyes half-opened and a somewhat wistful expression. Another distinction is the superior quality of the carving and polychromy when compared to the level of execution one typically encounters with Mechelen ‘dolls’. This applies not only to the polychromed finishing of her attire, but also the delicate flesh tones used to achieve a more natural appearance as opposed to the shiny, porcelain-like heads of the mass-produced poupées.

The present figure’s elaborate raiment and fanciful headdress are also atypical for Mechelen sculpture and indeed more characteristic of Antwerp Mannerism. This transitional style bridging gothic and renaissance held sway not only in Antwerp, but also in other Brabantine cities (Mechelen, Brussels, Leuven), the Mosan region, the Rhine and Lower Rhine regions, and even as far north as Utrecht and Amsterdam.⁶⁶Cf. sculptures by the Master of the Utrecht Stone Female Head in Utrecht, Jan van Steffeswert in Maastricht, and Henrik Douvermann in the Lower Rhine region. When it comes to localizing works like the present figure, stylistic elements described as ‘Antwerp mannerist’ therefore seldom provide sufficient grounds for pinpointing any one specific city or region within the geographic range of distribution.⁷⁷For the artistic exchange occurring among the various centres, see for example D. Preising, ‘Utrecht und Brabant: Künstlerische Wechselbeziehungen 1430-1530’, Aachener Kunstblätter 65 (2014), pp. 56-71. Decoration techniques such as sgraffito and pointillé likewise offer little or no means of verification: though originally linked to Antwerp retable production, sgraffito was a technique also frequently applied in centres such as Brussels and Mechelen.⁸⁸M. Buyle and C. Vanthillo, Vlaamse en Brabantse retabels in Belgische monumenten, Brussels 2000, pp. 99. Similarly, gold-leaf gilding decorated with pointillé was commonly practiced, not only in the Low Countries, but also in many other parts of Europe. Such uncertainties complicate the attribution of Antwerp Mannerist sculptures, often resulting in tentative conclusions subject to change.

The Amsterdam statuette is highly akin to a number of mannerist-style female saints linked to sculptural production in Antwerp, Mechelen and Brussels. Two works in particular display numerous similarities: a St Catherine of Alexandria formerly held in a private German collection,⁹⁹W. Godenne, Préliminaires à l’inventaire général des statuettes d’origine malinoise, présumées des XVe et XVIe siècles, vol. 10, Mechelen 1976, p. 97, T. Nissen collection, Stockach, Baden Württemberg, present whereabouts unknown. The base on which Catherine stands is integrally carved with the figure; the octagonal socle on which she stands, carved from a separate piece of wood, is non-original. and a St Agnes preserved in Rotterdam (fig. a).¹⁰¹⁰Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, inv. no. BEK 1772 (OK), see M. van Vlierden and J. Giltaij, Uit het goede hout gesneden: Middeleeuwse beelden uit de collectie Schoufour-Martin in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 2008, no. 42. As with the Amsterdam saint, here too the octagonal socle has been integrally carved with the figure. Like the Amsterdam saint, both figures are attired in luxuriously detailed raiment and possess the same natural proportions, a full, oval face, a sturdy neck, and a small pointed chin complemented by a second, smaller ‘under-chin’, rendered in delicate flesh tones enhanced with subtle blushes. Also remarkably similar are the two small forelocks that emerge from the headdress left and right, thus framing the forehead on all three figures.

Initially, the St Catherine was thought to be from Mechelen. With the discovery of the brand-marked hand on the reverse of the integrally carved base, however, its origin was confirmed as Antwerp.¹¹¹¹W. Godenne, Préliminaires à l’inventaire général des statuettes d’origine malinoise, présumées des XVe et XVIe siècles, vol. 10, Mechelen 1976, p. 97. In the past, the St Agnes was localized by some in Mechelen, by others in Antwerp.¹²¹²M. van Vlierden and J. Giltaij, Uit het goede hout gesneden: Middeleeuwse beelden uit de collectie Schoufour-Martin in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 2008, p. 162. Preising linked this latter work to a St Dorothy in Aachen, which Leeuwenberg in turn attributed to the Master of the Utrecht Stone Female Head (active c. 1490-c. 1530).¹³¹³D. Preising, ‘Utrecht und Brabant: Künstlerische Wechselbeziehungen 1430-1530’, Aachener Kunstblätter 65 (2014), pp. 56-71, esp. p. 66; J. Leeuwenberg, ‘Die heilige Dorothea und der Meister des Utrechter steinern Frauenkopfs’, Aachener Kunstblätter 34 (1967), pp. 175-93. Nevertheless, the Agnes lacks – as do the Catherine and the present figure – the strikingly high domed forehead, the fleshy nose and the rather compact proportions typical of others works attributed to the Master of the Utrecht Stone Female Head.¹⁴¹⁴Cf. for example 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, nos. 53, 56-60. Furthermore, Van Vlierden pointed out the similarity to the Wise and Foolish Virgins on the predella of the Antwerp retable of Vaksala (Sweden), a high-quality altarpiece likely built per commission.¹⁵¹⁵M. van Vlierden and J. Giltaij, Uit het goede hout gesneden: Middeleeuwse beelden uit de collectie Schoufour-Martin in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 2008, p. 162. For the retable of Vaksala, see M. Buyle and C. Vanthillo, Vlaamse en Brabantse retabels in Belgische monumenten, Brussels 2000, pp. 62-63, 73 and H. Nieuwdorp (ed.), Antwerp Altarpieces 15th-16th centuries, 2 vols., exh. cat. Antwerp (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) 1993, vol. 1, no. 24. The figures in question are the third and fourth Wise Virgins from the left. Indeed, clear parallels can be discerned in the facial expressions (compare the Amsterdam saint to the fourth Foolish Virgin from the left), with two of the Virgins even having the same small locks of hair framing the forehead as encountered on the present figure, the Catherine and the Agnes. Stylistic differences are also evident, however, foremost being the Swedish figures’ thickset corporeality and proportionally larger heads.

Observing that the facial type of the virgins of Vaksala were more reminiscent of Brussels rather than Antwerp models, Nieuwdorp posited that these figures were perhaps carved by a Brussels sculptor active in Antwerp, or alternatively, that the predella in which they stood arose from a collaboration of sculptors from both Antwerp and Brussels.¹⁶¹⁶H. Nieuwdorp (ed.), Antwerp Altarpieces 15th-16th centuries, 2 vols., exh. cat. Antwerp (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) 1993, vol. 1, pp. 146-47. A similar combination of factors could also apply to the ‘anonymous’ Amsterdam saint. Given the socle’s typical Mechelen manufacture, one might consider a scenario in which a Brussels master active in Mechelen carved this exceptionally refined figure of a female saint at the request of a (private) patron wishing to acquire a sculpture of a quality then unobtainable on the free market.

Titia de Haseth Möller, 2024

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 175, with earlier literature

Titia de Haseth Möller, 2024, 'anonymous and , Female Saint, Brabant, c. 1520', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.24456