The Swoon of the Virgin, from the Calvary Scene of the Soest Altarpiece

Utrecht, c. 1475 - c. 1500

Object data

oak with remnants of polychromy and gilding

height 56.5 cm × width 37 cm × depth 18.5 cm

Technical notes

Carved and originally polychromed. The figures stand on an integrally carved, rising ground with Tremolierung carved with a curved gouge. Remnants of yellow polychromy have been found on the skull and on the inside of the Virgin’s cloak, as well as blue on the outside of the cloak, green on St John’s cloak, red on his undergarment and remnants of gilding on the Virgin’s underdress.

Scientific examination and reports

paint samples: C.M. Groen and L. Vos, Centraal Laboratorium Amsterdam, August 1968
conservation report: R. Popp, Centraal Laboratorium Amsterdam, 1977

Literature scientific examination and reports

K. Aben et al., ‘Conservering van de beelden van Soest’, Bulletin Centraal Laboratorium voor onderzoek van voorwerpen en kunst en wetenschap 1977, pp. 93-105

Condition

Badly worm-eaten and decayed, so that the piece has survived only in fragmentary condition.

Conservation

E.H. Baaij, 1905: impregnated with animal glue; applied retouches in plaster, cement and paper pulp.
R. Popp, Centraal Laboratorium Amsterdam, 1968 - 1976: treated against woodworm, mould etc.; cleaned; plaster, cement and paper pulp retouches removed; wood returned to the original colour; polychromy fixed; animal glue residue from an earlier restoration removed; impregnated with low-viscosity epoxy resin.

Provenance

…; found in the Oude Kerk, Soest, with several other objects (BK-NM-12006-1 to -19), 1905;¹ donated by the municipality of Soest to the museum, 1907

Object number: BK-NM-12006-11

Context

Restoration work in the tower of the Oude Kerk in Soest in 1905 uncovered in a bricked-up area an important treasure trove of statues, albeit in a deplorable condition.² It is assumed that the figures were hidden there either in 1566 at the outbreak of the Iconoclasm or in December 1580, when Calvinists in the Eemland region endeavoured to destroy every last remnant of religious art.³

Among the carvings were five small oak groups and a number of loose fragments that together belonged to a large Passion altarpiece. All that survived of the altar case were a few wooden consoles and lead ornaments. In all probability the altarpiece consisted of a case in the shape of an inverted T, with seven compartments for as many scenes from Christ’s Passion. The case must have been around four metres wide overall and between 155 and 180 centimetres high.⁴ There was tracery (openwork gothic ornament) above the altar groups. The placement of the scenes followed the chronology of the Passion story, with the Calvary, as usual, in the larger, central caisse or compartment. To the left of this scene was the Agony in the Garden (BK-NM-12006-15-C), the Flagellation (BK-NM-12006-13) and Christ Carrying the Cross (BK-NM-12006-15-B), with the Entombment (BK-NM-12006-12) and Christ’s Descent into Limbo (BK-NM-12006-14) on the right. The (unknown) seventh scene would have been a Descent from the Cross, Lamentation, Resurrection or Ascension.⁵ No elements of either of these have been identified to date.

The altarpiece must originally have been exceptionally fine. Remnants of gold leaf and brocade patterns indicate that the whole thing was elaborately decorated, and the carefully worked details, lively expressions and interaction between the figures attest to a very high standard of artistry. Countless style characteristics – such as the conspicuous lower eyelids of all the figures, the realism in their faces, the generally quite tight garments with few folds and the anecdotal nature of the scenes – are strong indications that the altar was created in the last quarter of the fifteenth century in the sculpture centre of Utrecht, not far from Soest.

Broekhuijsen-Kruijer gave the anonymous maker of the altar the provisional name of Master of the Soest Altarpiece. According to Leeuwenberg, two apostle figures that were also found in the church (BK-NM-12006-6 and BK-NM-12006-9) were ‘in all likelihood by the same hand’. He saw similarities in ‘the eyes and the face, the rather thickset forms, and the whole character’.⁶ However, the inconsistent style of the folds of the garments and the different handling of hair and beards – slightly wavy in the altar fragments as opposed to curly in the apostle statues – do not support this attribution.

As Van Binnebeke pointed out, an Ecce Homo group in Rotterdam, which he dated to around 1500 and located in Utrecht, with reservations, is stylistically akin to the Soest Altarpiece.⁷ The same soft-top boots, pointed shoes and rosette clasps are found in both pieces, as are the wispy hair and the variety of realistic and grotesque facial expressions. The quality of the Soest Altarpiece is superior, however.

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

The artist

Master of the Soest Altarpiece (active in Utrecht c. 1475-c. 1500)

The Master of the Soest Altarpiece was named by Broekhuijsen-Kruijer after the remnants of an altarpiece found in the Oude Kerk of Soest, a small village near Utrecht. During restoration work on the church carried out in 1905, nineteen wooden sculptures were discovered in a bricked-up area inside the church tower. Among them were seven stylistically unified altar groups clearly once belonging to a Passion retable. Despite their extremely poor condition, it was possible to determine the various scenes depicted: Christ in Agony, the Flagellation, Christ Carrying the Cross, the Calvary, the Entombment and Christ’s Descent into Limbo. In 1907, the five Passion groups were moved to the Rijksmuseum.⁸ Over the years, several attempts have since been made to reconstruct the original altarpiece.

On stylistic grounds, the retable can be dated to the late fifteenth century. The realistic rendering of the nude physical form and the faces, with the pronounced detailing of the eyelids, suggest the Master of the Soest Altarpiece was active in Utrecht, closely adhering to local woodcarving traditions. Leeuwenberg attributed two other figures from the church (BK-NM-12006-6 and BK-NM-12006-9) to the same master, though this conclusion appears unfounded, especially when considering the dissimilar treatment of the hair.

Marie Mundigler, 2023

References
K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16; J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, pp. 60-62; B. Nederveen, ‘Het passieretabel van Soest. Kanttekeningen bij een reconstructie’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 52 (2004), pp. 270-81; Van der Mark in M. Leeflang et al., Middeleeuwse beelden uit Utrecht 1430-1530/Mittelalterliche Bildwerke aus Utrecht, exh. cat. Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent)/Aachen (Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum) 2012-13, no. 25

Entry

This retable group is part of the Calvary scene from the Soest Altarpiece.⁹ The following fragments of this scene – which was in the large caisse in the centre of the altar – have survived: the left section, shown here, with the Swoon of the Virgin, the crucified Christ’s pierced right foot (fig. a), and a separate fragment with a soldier looking up from the section to the right of the cross (BK-NM-12006-15-A).¹⁰ As usual in the Calvary scenes in large and medium-sized Passion altars, there would also have been one or more horsemen in the group. This is confirmed by a fragment of a horse’s leg and hoof that belonged to the altar (fig. b).

The Swoon group consists of a fainting Virgin in a loose robe, supported by St John the Evangelist (both heads are missing). The apostle wears a red cloak with yellow patterns; a rosary with large beads hangs from his belt. In the right foreground lies a skull, a permanent element in Calvary scenes. On the far left stands a weeping woman wearing a cap and chin-band. She is probably one of the Virgin’s half-sisters, Mary Cleophas or Mary Salome. Her sorrowful face, with slanted eyes and large nose, is strikingly similar to the less well preserved face of the Virgin Mary in the Entombment (BK-NM-12006-12).

In terms of the positioning of these three principal figures, the group corresponds to a print by the Master of the Berlin Passion and a fragment of a Utrecht Calvary made of polychromed pipeclay in Rotterdam.¹¹ In the badly decayed group from Soest, however, there were originally at least two additional figures in the scene. To the left of the lamenting woman there is a small remnant of a garment with pressed brocade. This would probably be the garment of the Virgin’s other half-sister.¹² A photograph taken in 1905 (fig. c) also shows loose, flowing hair and deeply carved, fur-trimmed sleeve opening , remnants of a Mary Magdalene figure seen from behind on St John’s right side.¹³

The soldier from the right-hand section of the Soest Calvary scene turns towards the cross, now missing. He wears a turban and a paltock with armour over it, top and bottom parts held together with a strap and buckle on the back and a sash worn low on the hips. He also wears poleyns, hose and high boots. This may be Longinus, who pierced Christ’s side with a spear. There is a pair of feet on the rocks in the background and another foot in a pointed shoe on the right. They indicate the presence of at least two more figures.

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

Literature

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 23a, with earlier literature; Jaarverslag Nederlandse Rijksmusea (1976), p. 17; K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16; P. van Dael et al., Hout- en steensculptuur. Beeldhouwkunst 1200-1800 in de collectie van het Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 1994, p. 85; B. Nederveen, Soest, tussen Amersfoort en Utrecht. Een studie naar de herkomst van de laatgotische sculptuur uit de Hervormde Kerk te Soest, Amsterdam 1999 (unpub. thesis University of Amsterdam), pp. 13-14, 93-96; J.H.M. Hilhorst and J.G.M. Hilhorst, Soest, Hees en De Birkt. Van de achtste tot de zeventiende eeuw, Hilversum 2001, pp. 239-40, 260, 278; B. Nederveen, ‘Het passieretabel van Soest. Kanttekeningen bij een reconstructie’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 52 (2004), pp. 270-81; Van der Mark in M. Leeflang et al., Middeleeuwse beelden uit Utrecht: 1430-1530/Mittelalterliche Bildwerke aus Utrecht: 1430-1530, exh. cat. Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent)/Aachen (Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum) 2012-13, no. 25d; J. Groenveld, ‘De Sint-Jansverering in een Sint-Vitusparochie voor 1580’, Tussen Vecht en Eem: Tijdschrift voor regionale geschiedenis 35 (2017), pp. 213-25, esp. p. 220

Citation

B. van der Mark, 2024, 'Meester van het retabel van Soest, The Swoon of the Virgin, from the Calvary Scene of the Soest Altarpiece, Utrecht, c. 1475 - c. 1500', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200115807

(accessed 12 December 2025 14:40:50).