Flemish Altarpiece

Flemish Altarpiece at the Bowes Museum, Co. Durham.

The Flemish Altarpiece is made up of twelve paintings by Master of the View of Saint Gudule illustrating: The Agony in the Garden (St. Jerome); Christ before Pilate (St Gregory);  The Resurrection (Saint Ambrose) The Risen Christ (Saint Augustine), with God the Father (Saint Anthony) and the Adoration of the Magi (Family of Zebedee) above. These oil on panel paintings from c.1480 have been hidden from view for years and were in great need of conservation. The Museum’s Paintings Conservators, Jon Old and Paul Turner have spent three months assessing the condition of the panels and then carrying out the necessary conservation work. Paintings by this 15th century Flemish artist are rare in the UK, and their revelation gives the public a much greater appreciation of the work of this Renaissance artist. Master of the View of Saint Gudule was so–called after his most famous work, The Rural Sermon, now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris, which shows the Cathedral of Saint Gudule in the background. The artist was heavily influenced  by the earlier Brussels painter Rogier Van der Weyden (1399/1400 –1464), who developed an austere expressive style to depict the sufferings of Christ that is also reflected in the carving of the sculpture in this altarpiece.
The most important piece of furniture in a church is the holy table or altar. It is central to the building physically, spiritually and visually. Some of the most beautiful and highly finished paintings were created to decorate the altar. Altarpieces were often made in many parts, combining both painting and carving, and were magnificently decorated. In this altarpiece the lower wings and the carvings form a sequence that tells of the arrest, execution and resurrection of Christ. The mallet mark, hallmark of the Brussels sculptors’ guild appears three times on the back of the carvings. The highly skilled carvers display a firm grasp of the anatomy and articulation of the human body. Most striking is the expressive quality of the work, whether it is the brutality with which Christ is treated or the suffering and pathos of the Virgin and the disciples. The reverse of the left upper shutter is decorated with an image of St Anthony. The right shutter has been lost and the image of the Family of Zebedee on the reverse is not original to the altarpiece. The lower shutters are decorated on the reverse with the four fathers of the church. An example of the mallet mark, hallmark of the Brussels sculptors’ guild that appears on the back of the carvings.
  • Object number: W.123
  • Collection: WOOD CARVING
  • Creator: Master of St. Gudule (c.1460-c.1480)
  • Production place: Brussels
  • Date: 1460 – 1480
  • Production period: 15th century
  • School/style: Flemish
  • Material: Panel, Oak
  • Technique: Oil
  • Dimensions: Length: 241 cm, Width: 585.5 cm, Length: On Show 243 cm