Subjects
Open:
• central panel: Descent from the cross;
• left-hand lateral panel: The Tiburtine Sybil communicating her vision to the Emperor Augustus;
• right-hand lateral panel: Vision of...
read moreSubjects
Open:
• central panel: Descent from the cross;
• left-hand lateral panel: The Tiburtine Sybil communicating her vision to the Emperor Augustus;
• right-hand lateral panel: Vision of the Three Wise Men.
Closed:
• left-hand panel: Discovery of the true cross by Helen;
• right-hand panel: The Byzantine emperor Heracles 1st brings the true cross back to Jerusalem after its theft by the Persians.
Oil and tempera on panel.
Central panel: 62 x 51.5 cm
Lateral panel: 53.5 x 28 cm
Provenance:
• Carlo Ludovico di Borbone collection, King of Etruria, Duke of Lucca and Duke of Parma, no. 68 (a seal on the back of the work proves its provenance);
• Roy Miles collection, 1976;
• Private Spanish collection, 1977.
This remarkable triptych allows us to admire a work worthy of a great 15th century painter. Combining rigour and precision, this assembly of panels composes a work of exceptional quality. Basing his iconography on differing subjects, and thus on different compositions, this triptych bears witness to the cultural wealth of Flanders at this time and the fabulous degree of skill artists had reached.
The central panel of this triptych, the Descent from the cross, is based on the work of the same name by Rogier van der Weyden kept at the Prado (Madrid), although only the figure of Joseph of Arimathea has been exactly copied. The two figures that close the painting on the right-hand side can also be seen in the Descent from the Cross by Vrancke van der Stockt kept at Munich’s Alte Pinkothek as well as in a drawing in Nuremberg also by the hand of our artist. With a fine, delicate stroke and with the help of a refined chromatic palette, Vrancke van der Stockt has created an absolutely sumptuous Descent from the Cross by adding a myriad of small details to it. As such, this fabulous Descent from the Cross is already a true masterpiece in its own right.
Following the example of van der Stockt’s Descent from the Cross, the wings of this triptych – on the left Augustus and Tiburtine Sybil, on the right, the Vision of the Three Wise Men – copy the paintings by Rogier van der Weyden taken from the Bladelin altarpiece (Staatliche Museum, Berlin). Nevertheless, our two panels have their own personality whose originality can be seen in certain iconographic and stylistic
formulas. For example, the Three Wise Men are arranged differently. While Rogier superposes them, Vrancke uses rows of cluster to greater emphasise volume. In the vision of Augustus, it is a white dog, copied from Rogier van der Weyden’s altarpiece of the Epiphany with the Dove (c. 1460, Alte Pinkothek, Munich), that adds an additional touch of animation and humanity. The lateral left-hand panel depicts a legend associated with Christianity that was very popular in the Middle Ages. The artist portrays the moment when, after having questioned the Tiburtine Sybil to find out whether there would a greater man on earth than he, the Emperor Augustus has a vision of the Virgin appearing in great splendour holding a child in her arms and a voice coming from the heavens telling him: "Here is the Virgin who will conceive the saviour of the world", then, "this is the beloved daughter of God".
A marvel of style and execution, the reverse side of these two wings is just as delightful to the viewer. The backs of the panels depict scenes taken from the legend of the true cross; on the left, the Discovery of the True Cross by Helen, and, on the right, the Entry of the True Cross in Jerusalem.
When Helen, the mother of Constantine I, went to Jerusalem inspired by God, she discovered three crosses; that of Christ and the two thieves. To find out which was the true cross, she brought forth a cripple, who, once in contact with the true cross, was able to walk again. This particularly well orchestrated wing shows us several episodes from the legend. Besides the discovery of the true cross, we can also observe the return of the latter to Rome symbolised by the church in the background: St. Peter's Basilica, a motif also taken from a work by Rogier van der Weyden, The Dream of Pope Sergius (J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles). The second back refers to the return of the true cross to Jerusalem by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius in 630, after it had been stolen by the Persians.
The legend of the true cross is a subject rarely portrayed in the 15th century other than in books of hours. As such, these two wings have a very particular importance. Based on a personal composition, these two panels show a Vrancke van der Stockt displaying greater independence resulting in a work of great beauty. Just like the other panels in the triptych, these two wings are the result of rigorous work where meticulousness and precision are the key words.
Painted with a refined technique and extreme distinction, our triptych, just like the Triptych of the Redemption (Prado, Madrid) deserves to be considered as an essential part of the work of Vrancke van der Stockt. Whilst he was inspired by the work of his master and friend, Rogier van der Weyden, Vrancke van der Stockt shows here an independence and talent worthy of his reputation, that of being one of the great painters of his time.
1420 – Brussels - 1495
Vrancke van der Stockt had a long and clearly fruitful career as a painter. Composed of both drawings and paintings, a very rare thing in the 15th century, his work...
read more1420 – Brussels - 1495
Vrancke van der Stockt had a long and clearly fruitful career as a painter. Composed of both drawings and paintings, a very rare thing in the 15th century, his work bears witness to a painter with an important role in the pictorial evolution of Brussels in the 15th century following Rogier van der Weyden. The son of Jan van der Stockt, who handed over his studio to him in 1444, he was undoubtedly already a master at this time. He had therefore probably come of age and obtained the title of “free master”. This piece of information allows us to situate his birth around 1420. The paintings that are attributed to him show the major influence of Rogier van der Weyden but also probably training in his father’s studio. Vrancke van der Stockt married Catherine der Moeyen in 1489 with whom he had five children.
During Van der Weyden’s lifetime, van der Stockt already appears to have been extremely prosperous: he acquired land, houses and a private income. On several occasions he exercised important functions. First of all, he was magistrate of Brussels, then purveyor of the town of Saint Eloi. In 1476, he represented the guild of painters in a disagreement between the painters and the weavers concerning their respective competences. It is thought that Vrancke van der Stockt succeeded Rogier van der Weyden as “Town Painter” after the death of the master in 1464.
However, we know little about his artistic activities. In 1460, he painted two oriflammes for the de Halle ducal castle. In Brussels, the accounts books of the Brotherhood of Notre-Dame mention, for the years 1466-1467, that Vrancke supplied the patron with a wrought iron Jesse Tree that was polychromed by his assistant. In 1468, Vrancke went to work in Bruges with three assistants for the marriage of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York. Of all the painters present, Vrancke van der Stockt was, alongside Jacques Daret, was the one who received the highest salary.
A painter of great talent, Vrancke van der Stockt was responsible for the arrival of numerous artists in Brussels in the 15th century. An important person and a wealthy man, he was certainly one of the most prestigious Brussels' painters of his century.
