Aan de slag met de collectie:
anonymous
Christ Descending into Limbo, from a Passion Altar
Southern Netherlands, c. 1440
Inscriptions
- number, on the underside, scratched:VIIII (location number)
Technical notes
Carved and polychromed. The group is made of three assembled blocks of oak: two vertical blocks standing on a horizontal thick plank. It seems they were originally assembled with glue and iron nails. According to P. Klein’s dendrochronological investigation, the earliest felling date of the tree would be 1502 and the earliest date for the carving from 1502 onwards, but a probable date for the carving would be from 1507. These results have proved unreliable in the light of the results of a more recent dendrochronological analysis of the groups of horsemen (BK-1964-2-A and BK-1964-2-B) from the same altarpiece, by M. Domínguez Delmás and art historical findings.
Scientific examination and reports
- conservation report: W.J. Mares, Maastricht, 20 oktober 1971
- dendrochronology: P. Klein, Universität Hamburg, 11 april 2005
- dendrochronology: P. Klein, Universität Hamburg, 4 mei 2014
Condition
The construction of the group is stable. Christ’s right hand has broken off and part of the draperies of the angel at the left side has been sawn off. There is loss of wood in the grass area in the foreground. Both sides of the group were sawn off at an unknown date (early in the 20th century?) in order to make the group fit the narrow caisse (BK-1964-2-C) in which it is still presented today. The original construction was taken apart and reassembled (see conservation report by W. Mares, 1971). There are a number of overpainted surfaces and discoloured retouches. Part of the polychromy is original (see restoration treatment by W. Mares, 1971). Pressed brocade can be seen on the dress of one of the two angels.
Conservation
- W.J. Mares, 1971: dirty layers and overpainting removed; flaking paint secured with beeswax; old nailed joints replaced with wooden dowelling joints; the tracery in the bottom of the caisse (BK-1964-2-C) replaced correctly.
Provenance
...; anonymous sale, Munich (Weinmüller), 7-8 December 1960, no. 422, fig. 57, with BK-1964-2-A and -B, to the dealers Graf und Gräfin Pourtalès, Prien am Chiemsee (Bavaria);1Note RMA. from whom purchased by the dealer P. Drey, New York;2Note RMA. from whom, $ 7,500, to the museum, 27 November 1962
ObjectNumber: BK-1962-33
Entry
This group (fig. a), together with two Groups of Horsemen from a Calvary Scene (BK-1964-2-A and -B), and three large altar caisses (BK-1964-2-C, -D and -E), come from the same large carved altarpiece dedicated to the Passion of Christ.3Technical observations made by A. Lorne during conservation have confirmed the common origin of the three groups, but it was not possible to establish whether caisses and groups originate from one and the same altarpiece. She could not actually rule out the possibility that the caisses are from another retable altogether, even if they do bear location marks similar to those on the groups. Might the dismantled parts of a large carved Passion altarpiece have been placed in these caisses to make them more attractive and salable, possibly at the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century? This is at least suggested by the fact that the group of Christ descending into Limbo has been sawn off to fit into its caisse. Conservation report, A. Lorne, 2017, see Scientific Examination and Reports. The central image was the Crucifixion of Christ, flanked by the two thieves, below are Roman and Jewish horsemen, and beneath them a crowd of onlookers. Christ’s mother Mary with St John the Evangelist, Mary Salome and Mary of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene or St Veronica were placed in the centre foreground at the foot of the Cross. The two groups of horsemen are all that have survived from the original composition, but a well-nigh complete Calvary scene in the Schnütgen Museum in Cologne, which is very closely akin to the Amsterdam figure groups, gives a good impression of the original arrangement (fig. b).4Cologne, Schnütgen Museum, inv. nos. A 998 and A 1101, see A. von Euw, ‘Der Kalvarienberg im Schnütgen-Museum’, Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 27 (1965), pp. 87-128.
The foremost rider in the left-hand group in the Rijksmuseum can be identified as the blind Longinus, with his eyes downcast and his left hand resting on the shoulder of the horseman beside him. The spear he held in his other hand, with which he would pierce Christ’s side, is missing. According to one legend, Longinus regained his sight when he was touched by Christ’s blood as it dripped down the spear. Stephaton can be identified in the other group. It was he who offered Christ a sponge soaked in vinegar on the end of a reed just before he drew his last breath. Stephaton is the man right at the top of the group on the left. Immediately below him an older, bearded horseman wearing a hat with a round crown points to Christ on the Cross, now missing. He is the centurion who according to the gospels of Matthew (27:54) and Mark (15:39) proclaimed, ‘Truly this [man] was the Son of God!’
Taken in conjunction with the statuary group of Christ Descending into Limbo and the three surviving caisses of this altar, each almost a metre high, the groups of horsemen indicate that the original ensemble must have been very large indeed. The whole retable consisted of a central extra wide and high compartment in which the Calvary group was placed, with three separate smaller compartments on either side. Three of the six have survived. To the left of centre there were probably scenes from the life of Christ and his Passion, such as the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Arrest and the Flagellation or Carrying the Cross,5Cf. the mid-14th-century stone Passion Altar (without Crucifixion) in the Cathedral of St Denis (from left to right: the Arrest, Flagellation, Carrying of the Cross, Resurrection, Noli Me Tangere and the Descent into Limbo), or the fourteenth-century altar in the church at Villaines-sous-Lucé in Sarthe (from left to right: the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Entry into Jerusalem, the Crucifixion (centre), the Resurrection, the Descent into Limbo and the Last Judgement), see P.-Y. Le Pogam with the assistance of C. Vivet-Peclet, Les premiers retables (XIIe-début du XVe siècle): Une mise en scène du sacré, Paris (Musée du Louvre) 2009, nos. 98, 126. on the right were probably the Entombment, the surviving Descent into Limbo and the Resurrection. This altar must have been almost five metres wide overall and about a metre and a half high in the centre. It would have contained at least fourteen separate groups of figures; this is borne out by the location numbers ‘XII’, ‘XIIII’ and ‘XV’ scratched in the caisse.6On either side three caisses, each approximately 60 cm (3 x approx. 60 cm x 2 = approx. 360 cm); going by the width of the Cologne central section (101 cm) and adding an estimated margin of 20 cm for the central compartment: 360 + 120 cm = approx. 480 cm. The Cologne group is 119 cm high. Each of the side compartments contains at least one group and the central tableau was in any event made up of five groups and three crosses, going by the Cologne Calvary, see also A. von Euw, ‘Der Kalvarienberg im Schnütgen-Museum’, Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 27 (1965), pp. 87-128, esp. pp. 93-94. These compartments, which as it were locate the scenes in a gothic church interior, and hence symbolically bring the Bible stories closer to medieval worshippers, were linked together at the g by metal dovetail connectors – the indents they left can still be seen on the outside of the caisses.
Although originally regarded as possibly French,7Note RMA. in 1973 Leeuwenberg considered the ensemble to be Southern Netherlandish work, made around 1440.8See also Didier in M. Goossens et al., Gent: Duizend jaar kunst en cultuur, exh. cat. Ghent (Museum of Fine Arts) 1975, nos. 542-43, where the possibility of a Ghent provenance was put forward, for both the Cologne and the Amsterdam groups. Von Euw rightly noted in respect of the Cologne Calvary that the carving must have been influenced by painted examples created in the immediate artistic milieu of Jan van Eyck and Robert Campin.9A. von Euw, ‘Der Kalvarienberg im Schnütgen-Museum’, Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 27 (1965), pp. 87-128, esp. p. 117. The similarity between the Cologne and Amsterdam horseback groups is so great, as Leeuwenberg noted, that the two ensembles must have come from the same workshop. This is supported by the many technical parallels that have come to light in recent research.10Conservation report, A. Lorne, 2017, see Scientific Examination and Reports.
Surprisingly, dendrochronological analysis carried out by Peter Klein in 2005, and a repeated investigation in 2014, indicated that the Amsterdam fragments were all created after 1500, and were probably not carved until around 1515. This dating discrepancy between style and material was extremely difficult to explain, particularly since the Cologne Calvary group does date dendrochronologically to around 1440, so that in that case materials, technical and stylistic research confirm one another. The question is made even more complex, if that were possible, by the knowledge that the polychromy of the Cologne and Amsterdam groups is so closely related in the details – the eyes and lips, for instance – that we can see the same painter’s hand. New dendrochronological analysis carried out by another researcher has meanwhile established that the results of the earlier measurements were unreliable and that the groups were made in the same period as their Cologne equivalents.
The excellent quality of the Descent into Limbo with its well-preserved old polychromy gives a good impression of the splendid impact of the original altarpiece, which must have been truly spectacular. The recent restoration of the two groups of horsemen also revealed minuscule slivers of glass in the oldest paint layers on the rocks, which must have made the scenes glitter in flickering candlelight.11Conservation report, A. Lorne, 2017, see Scientific Examination and Reports. This is a very early example of the practice of sprinkling such materials into paint, see H. Portsteffen, ‘“Messingschnipsel” in Altarfassungen des 17. Jahrhunderts’, Zeitschrift für Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung 2 (1993), pp. 369-78. There has been virtually no research into this phenomenon, however, and no reasonable conclusions can be drawn about the spread of this technique from the examples known to date. The altar, thus shining, would have reminded the faithful of the countless liturgical plays that were put on in the Middle Ages. The Descent of Christ into Limbo was an important subject of these performances, serving to rescue from their distressing situation those who had lived in his spirit but not recognized him as their Redeemer. The scene was presented with great drama and action, and many props, as Christ commanded the devil in booming tones to open the mouth of hell before the audience’s eyes. Represented on the stage as the huge mouth of a monster, which in some cases could be opened and closed mechanically, it belched smoke and fire to show the spectators the horrors of the devil’s kingdom.12D. Esser, Ubique diabolus, der Teufel ist überall: Aspekte mittelalterliche Moralvorstellungen und die Kulmination moralisierender Tendenzen in deutschen und niederländischen Weltgerichtsbilder des 15. Jahrhunderts, Erlangen 1991; C. Davidson and T.H. Seiler (eds.), The Iconography of Hell, Kalamazoo 1992; P. Jezler, Himmel, Hölle, Fegefeuer: Das Jenseits im Mittelalter, exh. cat. Zurich (Swiss National Museum) 1994; P. van Boheemen and P. Dirkse (eds.), Duivels en demonen: De duivel in de Nederlandse beeldcultuur, exh. cat. Utrecht (Rijksmuseum Het Catharijneconvent) 1994, p. 61. The man who carved this Descent, taking his theme from the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus,13P. van Boheemen and P. Dirkse (eds.), Duivels en demonen: De duivel in de Nederlandse beeldcultuur, exh. cat. Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent) 1994, p. 61. did not reflect this sort of popular entertainment. He chose a less theatrical but theologically more significant moment – Salvation. Christ helps the souls of the Old Testament, burdened by Original Sin, out of the jaws of hell: Adam leads the way, followed through the flames by Eve and the three patriarchs. Christ stands, relaxed and elegant, with both feet on the dismantled door of hell, under which the devil, pictured as a reptile, has been crushed. Two angels accompany him.
Although the salvation of souls from limbo in itself expresses a positive idea – Christ’s victory over death and the devil – the sight of the gaping mouth of hell also reminded the living in an unmistakable way of the risks of leading a sinful life. It encouraged repentance and fostered compassion for the deceased who had not yet achieved divine bliss and were awaiting redemption in the fires of purgatory. The living were spurred on to pray for these poor souls.
Frits Scholten, 2024
Literature
J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 8, with earlier literature; P. van Boheemen and P. Dirkse (eds.), Duivels en demonen. De duivel in de Nederlandse beeldcultuur, exh. cat. Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent) 1994, no. 42, pp. 60-62 and fig. 51; K.W. Woods, ‘Questions d’attribution stylistique. Retables inédits en Angleterre’, in S. Guillot de Suduiraut et al., Retables brabançons des XVe et XVIe siècles: Actes du colloque organisé par le musée du Louvre les 18 et 19 mai 2001, Paris 2002, pp. 345-76, esp. p. 355; S. Marti et al. (eds.), Karl der Kühne (1433-1477): Kunst, Krieg und Hofkultur, exh. cat. Bern (Bern Historical Museum)/Bruges (Groeningemuseum) 2008, p. 205
Citation
F. Scholten, 2024, 'anonymous, Christ Descending into Limbo, from a Passion Altar, Southern Netherlands, c. 1440', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.296194
(accessed 16 February 2025 22:25:49).Figures
Footnotes
- 1Note RMA.
- 2Note RMA.
- 3Technical observations made by A. Lorne during conservation have confirmed the common origin of the three groups, but it was not possible to establish whether caisses and groups originate from one and the same altarpiece. She could not actually rule out the possibility that the caisses are from another retable altogether, even if they do bear location marks similar to those on the groups. Might the dismantled parts of a large carved Passion altarpiece have been placed in these caisses to make them more attractive and salable, possibly at the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century? This is at least suggested by the fact that the group of Christ descending into Limbo has been sawn off to fit into its caisse. Conservation report, A. Lorne, 2017, see Scientific Examination and Reports.
- 4Cologne, Schnütgen Museum, inv. nos. A 998 and A 1101, see A. von Euw, ‘Der Kalvarienberg im Schnütgen-Museum’, Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 27 (1965), pp. 87-128.
- 5Cf. the mid-14th-century stone Passion Altar (without Crucifixion) in the Cathedral of St Denis (from left to right: the Arrest, Flagellation, Carrying of the Cross, Resurrection, Noli Me Tangere and the Descent into Limbo), or the fourteenth-century altar in the church at Villaines-sous-Lucé in Sarthe (from left to right: the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Entry into Jerusalem, the Crucifixion (centre), the Resurrection, the Descent into Limbo and the Last Judgement), see P.-Y. Le Pogam with the assistance of C. Vivet-Peclet, Les premiers retables (XIIe-début du XVe siècle): Une mise en scène du sacré, Paris (Musée du Louvre) 2009, nos. 98, 126.
- 6On either side three caisses, each approximately 60 cm (3 x approx. 60 cm x 2 = approx. 360 cm); going by the width of the Cologne central section (101 cm) and adding an estimated margin of 20 cm for the central compartment: 360 + 120 cm = approx. 480 cm. The Cologne group is 119 cm high. Each of the side compartments contains at least one group and the central tableau was in any event made up of five groups and three crosses, going by the Cologne Calvary, see also A. von Euw, ‘Der Kalvarienberg im Schnütgen-Museum’, Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 27 (1965), pp. 87-128, esp. pp. 93-94.
- 7Note RMA.
- 8See also Didier in M. Goossens et al., Gent: Duizend jaar kunst en cultuur, exh. cat. Ghent (Museum of Fine Arts) 1975, nos. 542-43, where the possibility of a Ghent provenance was put forward, for both the Cologne and the Amsterdam groups.
- 9A. von Euw, ‘Der Kalvarienberg im Schnütgen-Museum’, Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 27 (1965), pp. 87-128, esp. p. 117.
- 10Conservation report, A. Lorne, 2017, see Scientific Examination and Reports.
- 11Conservation report, A. Lorne, 2017, see Scientific Examination and Reports. This is a very early example of the practice of sprinkling such materials into paint, see H. Portsteffen, ‘“Messingschnipsel” in Altarfassungen des 17. Jahrhunderts’, Zeitschrift für Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung 2 (1993), pp. 369-78. There has been virtually no research into this phenomenon, however, and no reasonable conclusions can be drawn about the spread of this technique from the examples known to date.
- 12D. Esser, Ubique diabolus, der Teufel ist überall: Aspekte mittelalterliche Moralvorstellungen und die Kulmination moralisierender Tendenzen in deutschen und niederländischen Weltgerichtsbilder des 15. Jahrhunderts, Erlangen 1991; C. Davidson and T.H. Seiler (eds.), The Iconography of Hell, Kalamazoo 1992; P. Jezler, Himmel, Hölle, Fegefeuer: Das Jenseits im Mittelalter, exh. cat. Zurich (Swiss National Museum) 1994; P. van Boheemen and P. Dirkse (eds.), Duivels en demonen: De duivel in de Nederlandse beeldcultuur, exh. cat. Utrecht (Rijksmuseum Het Catharijneconvent) 1994, p. 61.
- 13P. van Boheemen and P. Dirkse (eds.), Duivels en demonen: De duivel in de Nederlandse beeldcultuur, exh. cat. Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent) 1994, p. 61.