Eighteen Scenes from the Life of Christ, known as the Roermond Passion

Entry

This panel with 18 chronological scenes from Christ’s earliest years and his Passion is from Roermond Minster. The scenes are spread over three rows of six each. In the top row are The Annunciation, The Nativity with The Annunciation to the Shepherds in the background, The Circumcision, The Adoration of the Magi and The Presentation in the Temple. The Entry into Jerusalem, which closes off the top row, marks the start of the Passion. In the next row are The Last Supper, Christ in Gethsemane, The Arrest of Christ, Christ before Pilate, The Crowning with Thorns and The Flagellation. The bottom row represents the Passion, Resurrection, Ascension and descent of the Holy Ghost in the scenes of Christ Carrying the Cross, The Crucifixion, The Lamentation, The Resurrection with The Descent into Limbo in the background, The Ascension and Pentecost.⁵ Each scene is set in a reddish brown painted border, while the two central scenes of The Arrest of Christ and Christ before Pilate have painted gemstones at each corner, making six in all. One striking detail is the insignia of the order of St Antony worn by Balthazar, one of the kings in The Adoration of the Magi. It could be the insignia of the Brotherhood of St Antony of Barbefosse, which is said to have been founded by Albrecht of Bavaria in 1382, and according to Gorissen was no longer distributed after 1430.⁶

In The Lamentation in the bottom there is a prayer portrait of a female donor who can be identified as Bela Scheiffart van Merode from the coat of arms beside her. She and her husband, Johan van Mirlaer, Lord of Millendonck, are mentioned in a marriage settlement of 1378.⁷ Their daughter, Bela van Mirlaer van Millendonck, is recorded in 1447 as abbess of the Cistercian convent in Roermond, of which the Minster alone now remains.⁸ It is not known when she was elected, but her predecessor, Maria van Driel, was still in office in 1439.⁹ Bela Scheiffart van Merode is depicted as a widow in her mourning clothes and with a black widow’s cap. It is not known when she died, but if this is a posthumous portrait, the painting may have been commissioned by her daughter, Bela van Mirlaer or another family member.¹⁰

As Hoogewerff pointed out in 1936, this cycle is not the only one of its kind.¹¹ Such series are mainly found in Cologne, where this visual type evolved between around 1380 and 1450. Other examples are The Life and Passion of Christ in 35 Scenes with the donor and his family of c. 1410-20 in Berlin, and Twelve Scenes from the Life of Christ on canvas of c. 1450-60 in Cologne (fig. a, fig. b).¹² The function of paintings of this kind is not entirely clear, and also seems to vary, depending on the size and support.¹³ Although Hoogewerff believed that the canvas of the Rijksmuseum work was intended from the outset to be attached to a panel, it is perfectly possible that the panel was only attached later and that the canvas support is a pointer to the painting’s original function.¹⁴ Traces left by hanging in similar Cologne Passion series on canvas indicate that they were only hung up on important religious feast days, giving them a function comparable to that of the so-called ‘Fastentücher’.¹⁵ It is possible that the Rijksmuseum canvas was also hung up on 16 April, the day commemorating the death of Bela Scheiffart van Merode.¹⁶ Hanging the canvas and then storing it away again may account for the poor condition of the paint layer.¹⁷

Winkler and later art historians have noted the direct or indirect influence of compositions by Jan van Eyck.¹⁸ For example, The Annunciation has clear compositional similarities to the outer wings of the Ghent Altarpiece.¹⁹ The resemblance of the other scenes to similar works from Cologne, such as the Twelve Scenes from the Life of Christ (fig. b), and the influence that Van Eyck and his contemporaries also exerted in Germany, make it likely that these Flemish models were known indirectly to the artist of the present painting. In addition, the compositions, especially those set in an interior, are very comparable to those in Gelderland and Utrecht miniatures, such as the ones in the Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves.²⁰ These similarities and the provenance of this painting suggest that it could have been painted by a Gelderland artist who was familiar with painting in Cologne. Van Os’s assumption that he was a miniaturist seems less likely, since the iconography and form of the painting are anchored firmly in a painterly tradition.²¹ The traditional dating between 1430 and 1440 is supported by the costumes and stylistic and compositional features.²²

(J. Niessen)