Oil on oak panel

104 cm x 73 cm (116 cm x 84,5 cm in frame)

Ready to hang

 

Provenance: 

Capuchin monastery, Bruges, Belgium

 

Literature:

Fernand Bonneure, De Kapucijnen vierhonderd jaar in Brugge, 1592 - 1992, p. 55 (colour reproduction)

 

The painting was previously attributed to the Bruges painter Pieter Claessins the Elder (1500-1576). However, it also shows similarities with comparable works by other Flemish painters of the mid to later 16th century, such as Ambrosius Francken I., Marten de Vos, Pieter Aertsen, and Jan van Scorel.

The painting describes the moment of Christ's resurrection, a detail which is not narrated in any of the gospel accounts and has therefore afforded artists considerable space for their imagination and interpretation. Our panel depicts the resurrection as an awe-inspiring event:

Following Italian models, the transfigured Christ is hovering above the closed sarcophagus (rather than climbing  out of it or standing on or in front of it), surrounded by a mandorla of light, an image which is reminiscent of depictions of the Ascension or the Last Judgement. The fact that the sarcophagus is closed is highlighted through the unbroken seal (which also carries the remains of a monogramme 'S'). This is following a medieval tradition which likens the resurrection to Christ's birth and therefore the tomb to the Virign's womb. Theorists of the late Renaissance even demanded that the scarcophagus is shown as closed (e.g. Molanus and Ayala). It also made the event appear even more miraculous and supernatural. The serene figure of Christ in the center of the painting is balanced by the soldiers surrounding the sarcophagus who can be compared to mannerist figure studies, one of whom still asleep, the others blinded and contorted in gestures of surprise.

 

Whilst the painting is in a ready-to-hang condition, improvements are possible to the old repairs and retouchings. A light cleaning could also enhance further the vibrancy of the colours. We are happy to make an offer for such work, if desired.