The Descent from the Cross

Rendered with scrupulous attention to texture and detail, this striking panel, painted in the late fifteenth century, bears many of the hallmarks that came to define the output of painters working in the southern Netherlands during the late Middle Ages. Though the artist has yet to be identified, the work was most likely painted in the city of Brussels, or in the duchy of Brabant, and shows the pervasive influence of one of the greatest Netherlandish painters of the age: Rogier van der Weyden. Active in Brussels from the early 1430s until his death in 1464, van der Weyden occupied a position of enduring influence in the artistic production of Brabant throughout the end of the fifteenth century and beyond.

In around 1438, van der Weyden painted his altarpiece of The Descent from the Cross for the Guild of Crossbowmen in Leuven, made to adorn the altar of the Chapel of Our Lady Without the Walls (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Ginder-Buite, now in the Museo del Prado, Madrid; fig. 1). Described in 1548 by the Spanish courtier Vicente Alvarez as ‘the best picture…in the world’, this work was an extraordinary testament to the master’s abilities in conveying emotion and feeling through paint. The altarpiece, however, does not seem to be the only instance in Rogier’s career in which he treated the subject of Christ’s body being taken down from the Cross. Indeed, the present panel’s composition clearly derives from Rogierian motifs, taking its impetus not from the Prado Descent but from a lost painting by the master. This panel was described by Karel van Mander in his Het Schilderboeck of 1604 as showing ‘two figures standing on two ladders [who] lower the body with a linen cloth or shroud. Beneath, to receive it, stood Joseph of Arimathea and others. The Marys sat beneath weeping most affectingly; Mary, who appeared to be fainting, was supported by John, who was behind her’ (K. van Mander, The Lives of the Illustrious Netherlandish and German Painters, H. Miedema (ed.), Doornspijk, 1994, I, p. 86). Van Mander mistakenly identified this painting as that of the Prado Descent (which was in Spain by 1577), yet his description does not fully accord with the imagery of the Prado picture, instead aligning much more closely with the present, and other, Rogerian compositions, suggesting the existence of a second Descent by the master.

This lost design, indeed, seems to have enjoyed a popular dissemination in the region, and more especially in Brussels, during the last quarter of the fifteenth century. Another painting, apparently of almost identical appearance to the present picture, was recorded in the collection sale of Dr. Adolf Hommel, held in Zurich in August 1909. The Hommel painting minutely replicates the present work, with only minor differences to the landscape background (in which fewer castles and buildings appear), and the inclusion of a diadem headband worn by the Magdalene, not included here. The closeness of the two compositions suggests that the paintings were made replicating an existing pattern drawing, which had presumably been made or acquired by the master after Rogier’s lost original.

Infrared reflectography of the present panel reveals underdrawing that is instructive in the understanding of its compositional development. In areas where underdrawing is clearly visible, the scheme for figures has been relatively carefully followed. The torso and face of Christ in particular are carefully rendered, with a comprehensive system of short diagonal strokes outlining the form of his body and heavier lines used to indicate the contorted expression of pain on his face. Few changes appear to have been made from the design on the panel through to the painted surface, save for the ladder at the right of the scene, on which the diminutive assistant helps to lower Christ from the Cross, seemingly painted over areas of the landscape and the mourning woman below.

Notable too are some small changes on the drawn costumes of some figures. Joseph of Arimathea (who holds the feet of Christ), for example, originally appears to have worn a cloak adorned with two ornamental round clasps at the shoulders a much longer belt. This, however, was abandoned within the painted surface to reveal more of his velvet robe. The Virgin’s veil was also adjusted in paint, with the underdrawing showing her wearing a barbette – a piece of linen worn as part of the headdress that was secured under the chin – yet the costume, somewhat antiquated by the fifteenth century, was abandoned during the painting process. While such alterations are visible in the underdrawing of this picture, the Hommel painting follows its painted surface, suggesting that the present work was the first version of the composition produced in the painter’s workshop, and itself served as the model for the Hommel panel.

The lost painting by Rogier can likewise be related ultimately to the famed depiction of the Descent from the Cross painted by Robert Campin. Though only a fragment survives in The Bad Thief in Frankfurt, a reduced copy of the entire composition, made several decades after Campin’s work was finished, displays elements clearly recognisable in the Rogerian design, including the fainting Virgin, supported by John the Evangelist, and the body of Christ himself (Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery). Some features of the figures in the present work, in fact, exhibit a strong influence from the Campin school, particularly the mourning woman at the left of the composition and Nicodemus on the ladder. Yet despite these, and those replying on a lost Rogerian prototype, the present work clearly reveals the assured hand of a talented and distinctive master painter. The scrutiny of detail, such as the creased faces of the mourners, the delicately rendered velvet of Joseph of Arimathea’s robe and the gold-embroidered robes of Nicodemus and the Magdalene, suggest an artist who was established and talented, successfully combining influences into his own style with confidence rather than slavishly following existing designs. While the artist may have been working within van der Weyden's lifetime, dendrochronological analysis of the present panel by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein (dated 30 October 2015, available upon request) provides a felling date of between 1465 and 1471, with a plausible creation date from 1469 onwards, indicating that it was painted after van der Weyden's death.

Aspects of the painting show a clear reliance on popular devotional literature and trends, which had become an increasing focus for devotion during the late Middle Ages. The swooning Virgin, for example, had emerged as a widespread occurrence in images of Christ’s Crucifixion, intended to visualise her compassio – the idea that she had suffered, in her soul, the same pains as Christ as she witnessed the Passion. Her position in the present painting appears deliberately designed to evoke the shape of Christ’s body as a means of strengthening the connection between the two, something that van der Weyden had exploited with remarkable effect in his Descent from the Cross for the Leuven archers. The Magdalene’s position at the feet of Christ would have also been deeply significant for contemporary viewers, being an important model for devotion in the Middle Ages. As a penitent sinner, the Magdalene represented an attainable model for emulation, guiding the emotional and affective responses of the devout, as they were spiritually encouraged to join her in atoning for their sins and mourning Christ’s death at his feet. Her position here was especially significant – it was at his feet that the Magdalene had received forgiveness for her life of sin, and thus here that worshippers were encouraged in devotional literature, sermons and poems, to similarly begin to seek salvation.