Altar piece in oak wood - Brussels circa 1520

Altar piece in oak wood
Sculpture with Bishop and kneeling woman
Brussels or North Limburg. Early 16th century (c. 1520)

Dimensions: H 18.4cm W 19.2cm D 10cm

Fragment with a small group of people in a landscape. A composition with three background figures and two people in the foreground.

A standing bishop in full regalia, arms outstretched, turns to a woman who kneels before him. She has folded her hands and looks up at the bishop. She is dressed in a precious robe. This robe, the hair that falls in two braids and the turban-like headpiece with ribbon on the right shoulder give the woman an elegant and majestic expression.
The two men behind the woman, dressed in long collared coats and square hats, appear to be engaged in a disagreement. The man standing to the side behind the bishop is not wearing a hat; with his elevated position and gesture of reference, he completes the entire scene into the background.

This typical strict composition with the isolation of the figures is a typical “Brussels” composition (or Maasland because of the traditional costume) and differs from the Antwerp altarpiece art.

Provenance : collection Prof. Dr. Henny Otto Goldschmidt (The Netherlands – Eindhoven)

Expo: ‘In gotischer Gesellschaft’ – Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum Aachen (18th of April – 12th of July 1998)

Expo: Heavenly images: the medieval sculptures from the Goldschmidt collection
14th of April - 8th of July 2001 – Rijksmuseum Twenthe

Publication: P. 109-111 – Die Grossen Privatsammlungen - ‘In gotischer Gesellschaft’ – Spätmittelalterlichte Skulpturen aus einer Niederländischen Privatsammlung