Figures from a Crucifixion from an Antwerp Altarpiece: Soldiers Group

Artist South Netherlandish artist (Antwerp), early 16th century

Datecirca 1520–1525

Mediumoak with traces of polychromy

Dimensions17 x 14 in. (43.2 x 35.6 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the State of North Carolina

Object number61.1.5

On View

On view

Label TextThis dynamic sculpture, together with the Swooning Virgin Group (61.1.4), was originally part of a Crucifixion scene within a large altarpiece composed of sculpted compartments and painted wings. Following a standard layout, the centrally placed Crucifixion would have been surrounding by scenes depicting the events immediately preceding and following Christ’s death.

A miniature impression of a hand—a carver’s mark—on top of each composition points to their manufacture in early sixteenth-century Antwerp, where teams of artisans created painted wooden altarpieces in large numbers for export throughout Europe. Although the Reformation eliminated some markets for these elaborate multimedia works, their makers apparently adapted the imagery to suit both Catholic and Protestant patrons.
[L. Humphrey, “The People’s Collection, Reimagined,” 2026]ProvenanceProduced in the city of Antwerp, South Netherlandish region of Brabant, about 1520–1530. [Edward R. Lubin, Inc. Works of Art, New York, NY, by 1961] [1]; acquired by the North Carolina Museum of Art, 1961.

[1] Dealer was unable to furnish ex-collection information to NCMA “as it is still a source.”

Published References“Accessions of American and Canadian Museums: October–December, 1961,” The Art Quarterly (Spring 1962), 86, illus. (b-w), 73 and cover.

Justus Bier, “Director’s Report,” North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 4, nos. 2 and 3 (Winter–Spring 1964), 3–22 at 9.

“Selections from Acquisitions of the Biennium,” North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 4, nos. 2 and 3 (Winter–Spring 1964), fig. 10, 42, fig. 12, 43.

"Biennial Report of Registrar’s Department and Library," North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 4, nos. 2 and 3 (Winter–Spring 1964), 64 (as The Fainting Mary, Supported by Saint John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalene and The Centurion Recognizing Christ and Two Mocking Soldiers).

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