The Crucifixion with Mary Magdalen at the foot of the cross

Physical description

Oil on oak panel depicting the Crucifixion with Mary Magdalen at the foot of the cross

Place of Origin

Bruges, Belgium (painted)

Date

ca. 1500 (painted)

Artist/maker

unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Oil on oak panel

Dimensions

Height: 78.8 cm estimate - left wing, Width: 22.5 cm estimate - left wing, Height: 78.8 cm estimate - centre panel, Width: 54 cm estimate - centre panel, Height: 78.8 cm estimate - right wing, Width: 22.5 cm estimate - right wing

Object history note

Lent by Mrs Alfred Watts, 1867; acquired, 1937

Descriptive line

Oil painting, 'Triptych: The Crucifixion with Mary Magdalen at the Foot of the Cross', School of Bruges, ca. 1500

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Kauffmann, C.M. Catalogue of Foreign Paintings, I. Before 1800. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1973, p. 51-52, cat. no. 53
The following is the full text of the entry:

"School of BRUGES, c. 1500

53
TRIPTYCH: THE CRUCIFIXION WITH MARY MAGDALEN AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS; left wing: ST MARTIN DIVIDING HIS CLOAK: right wing: ST DONATION: reverse of wings: FRAGMENTS OF GRISAILLE PAINTINGS OF THE VIRGIN READING (left) and THE ANGEL OF THE ANNUNCIATION (right).
Oak panel, arched top
Centre panel 31 X 21¼ (78.8 X 54)
wings, each 31 X 8 7/8 (78.8 X 22.5)
P.39-1937

The original attribution 'Flemish early 16th century' was changed to 'German or Flemish' when the triptych was acquisitioned in 1937. However, the faces of the principal characters, the Virgin, St John, Mary Magdalen and St Martin, have been very much restored and it is possible that their German appearance is due to the hand of a German restorer working from German models. The Netherlandish origin of the painting is attested not only by the landscape background, but, in particular, by the grisailles on the reverse of the wings. These have been reduced, by flaking, to a very fragmentary state. Unlike the front they have never been repainted, and they provide evidence both of the high quality of the original painting and of a date c. 1500. The composition is unusual in that the angel approaches the Virgin from the right instead of the left (cf. Liesborn altarpiece, N. G.; M. Levey, German School, 1959, p. 71).
St Donation, a 4th century bishop of Rheims, is depicted holding a cross and a wheel set with five candles. According to the legend, Donation was thrown into the Tiber, whereupon the Pope threw a wheel set with five candles after him. This came to a stop at the place where he had sunk and so the saint was saved. He died at Rheims, but in the 9th century his relics were taken to Bruges, where the cathedral was dedicated to him and where his cult became almost exclusively localized. Consequently, paintings of him were, in the main, executed for patrons connected with Bruges (Jan van Eyck, Van der Paele Madonna, Bruges Museum; Gerard David, Canon Bernardinus de Salviatis with his patron saints, N. G.; Jan Gossaert, Diptych of Jean Carondelet, Tournai Museum) and it is likely that this triptych originated in the same region.

Condition. Much damaged and extensively repainted.
Prov. Lent to the Museum by Mrs Alfred Watts in 1867; remained unclaimed and taken over by the Museum in 1937."

Materials

Oil paint; Oak

Techniques

Oil painting

Subjects depicted

Mary Magdalene (Saint); Martin (Saint)

Categories

Religion; Christianity; Paintings

Collection code

PDP