Details

Vergleichsliteratur:
Max J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, Bd. 3, Dieric Bouts and Joos van Gent. Comments and Notes by Nicole Veronee-Verhaegen, Leyde- Brüssel 1968, S. 67, Nr. 63b, Tafel 77;
Valentine Hendericks, Albrecht Bouts (1451/55 – 1549), Contributions à l’étude des Primitifs flamands 10, Brüssel 2009.

Provenienz:
Sammlung des Kunsthändlers Pierre de Grand-Pré, Paris, versteigert am 16.2.1809 (als Dierk Bouts);
Sammlung Augustin Lapeyrière, Paris, 1825 (als “Meister der Lucialegende”);
Galerie Fiévez, Brüssel, Auktion “Collections de Mme M. L.S. et autres provenances”, 26.5.1930, Los 17 (als Dierk Bouts);
Sammlung Kurt Rohde, Berlin, 1930;
Elisabeth Rohde, Berlin;
Grisebach, Berlin, Sonderauktion “The Rohde-Hinze Collection”, 3.7.2015, Los 3019;
Privatbesitz, Berlin.

Description

At the turn of the 15th century, Albrecht Bouts and his workshop produced large numbers of devotional pictures, deriving some models from his father Dierk Bouts. He himself came up with five original prototypes of Christ crowned with thorns as the Man of Sorrows. Here he is shown en face and appears to be looking directly at the viewer. The hands are raised in a gesture of blessing, as if displaying the stigmata of the crucifixion. The drops of blood trickling down also speak of his suffering. The style of painting suggests that the picture was created in the second half of the 16th century, painted by an artist who was obviously inspired by the sought-after models of the Bouts family and their Louvain workshop.