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The Entombment (Bouts)

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Dirk Bouts, The Entombment, probably 1450s. Glue size on linen, 87.5 × 73.6 cm. National Gallery, London.

The Entombment is a glue tempera painting on linen cloth[1] usually attributed to the Flemish Primitive painter Dirk Bouts. It shows a scene from the biblical entombment of Christ, and was created sometime between 1440 and 1454 as a wing panel for a large hinged polyptych altarpiece, with a central crucifixion scene flanked on either side by two half-length works depicting scenes from the life of Christ. The smaller works would have been paired in a format similar to Bouts' 1464–67 Altar of the Holy Sacrament. The larger work was probably commissioned for export, possibly to a Venetian patron whose identity is lost.[2] It was first recorded in a mid-19th century Milan inventory, and has been in the National Gallery, London since its purchase on the gallery's behalf by Charles Eastlake in 1861.

The Entombment shows four female and three male mourners grieving over the body of Christ. They are, from left to right, Nicodemus, Mary Salome, Mary of Clopas, Mary mother of Jesus, John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene and Joseph of Arimathea. The attendants' emotions range from sorrow and pity to tears. Each figure's expression is uniquely rendered but all express grief and are described with restraint.

It is one of the few surviving 15th-century paintings created using glue size, an extremely fragile medium lacking durability but allowing unusually vivid colourisation. The Entombment is in relatively poor condition compared to panel paintings of similar age. Its colours are now far duller than they once would have been.[3] The painting is covered by accumulated layers of dirt but cannot be cleaned without damaging the surface and removing large amounts of pigment as its glue-size medium is a water-soluble.

The painting

Description

The work shows Christ's body, wrapped in a white linen shroud and still wearing a crown of thorns, as it is lowered into a deep stone tomb. He is attended by seven mourners dressed in contemporary clothing. Among the group of mourners standing at Christ's side, the three female figures are shown with downcast eyes while the two men look directly at Christ; these gazes are reversed with the couple kneeling at his feet.[2] The background contains a wide landscape with a winding pathway and a broad river before a more distant vista of trees and hills. The Pharisee Nicodemus supports Christ as he is lowered, and can be identified by his similarity to Simon the Pharisee in another canvas attributed to Bouts, Christ in the House of Simon.[4] The Virgin wears a white headdress and a dark blue dress with a yellowish mantle, and holds Christ's arm just above his wrist as if afraid to let go of her dead son. She is supported by John the Evangelist, who wears a red robe. The three other women are identified as the Three Marys. Dressed in green robes, Mary Salome stands to the Virgin's left, wiping tears from her face with the fold of her white headdress. Mary of Clopas is behind them, holding a red cloth over her mouth, while the Magdalen is in the foreground at Christ's feet, dressed in a heavily folded cloak. The man in the brown–green tabard at the feet of Christ is probably Joseph of Arimathea, who, according to Gospel, brought Christ's body from Pontius Pilate to Golgotha.[4]

Detail showing the corspe of Christ and head of Nicodemus.
Painting of a standing man facing right
Detail from Rogier van der Weyden's Descent, showing Mary of Clopas, Saint John the Evangelist and Mary Salome.

The paint seems to have been thinly applied on the Z-spun and tabby linen thread support, which is now visible in areas. There are between 20 to 22 vertical and between 19 to 22 horizontal threads per centimeter. Selvage has not been found, making it difficult to distinguish warp from weft. The linen is lined on similar but more finely woven linen and mounted on a streacher. The panel was originally fixed to its frame by pegs and nails. Rustly nail holes are found with the frame in the lower border, and visible across the top of the picture, an area of canvas that was covered by frame. The hue of the colours as they would have first been layed down can be inferred from this strip.[5]

Bouts used a variety of pigments. The whites were achieved mainly from chalk mixed with lead white, especially in the Magdalen's mantle and veil and in Christ's shroud. The artist used a number of blues: the sky and Nicodemus' collar are painted with azurite; the Virgin's dress is composed from azurite mixed with ultramarine and smalt; and the landscape contains indigo mixed with lead-tin yellow. The greens are predominant in the background landscape are mostly achieved through blends of blue and yellow pigments, while the blacks are generally bone blacks, although they are mixed with chalk in areas, producing a red or brownish earthy appearance.[5]

Documentary evidence drawn from various inventories indicates that the painting was produced on commission for export to Venice. Campbell sees its influnce in Giovanni Bellini's c. 1460 Transfiguration of Christ, espically in the detail of the predominately muted green background and winding pathway and winding river. Campbell also notes the sunrise in Bellini's c. 1465 Resurrection as bearing close parlell to Bouts' Entombment.[6]

Condition

The Entombment was painted on linen cloth using glue size as a binder, at the time a relatively inexpensive alternative to oil.[7] Glue size does not saturate its medium as much as oil, allowing the pigment to show as matt and opaque, giving – especially with reds and blues – an intense appearance when applied to cloth. Because cloth is fragile and easily perishable,[8] this work is one of the few surviving examples of the technique from the early Netherlandish or Flemish Primitive period; the majority extant today were executed on wood using oil or egg tempera.

Dirk Bouts, Lamentation of Christ, c. 1480–1510. National Gallery in Prague. This work has a number of formal similarities with the National Gallery picture.

The colours would have first appeared as bright and crisp, but over six-and-a-half centuries have acquired layers of dirt which darken the tone and render them as faint, pallid and opaque. Normally these layers of surface dirt would be wiped by restorers, but given the delicate and fragile nature of a work painted in a water-soluble medium, it is impossible to do so without removing large amounts of pigment.[9] The Entombment is one of the best preserved and few surviving examples of the glue-size technique, although a large number were produced in the 15th century.[5]

The extant colours have likely faded from their original appearance. The Virgin's mantle is now brown but would have been painted as blue. The green of Joseph's tabard, once blue, now appears as green. The original indigos of the landscape are lost, while the azurite in Nicodemus's collar has darkened.[10][11][9] It is possible to see the degree to which the format allowed Bouts, in the words of art historian Susan Jones, to "[achieve such] sophistication ... to create both fine linear detail and subtle tonal transitions."[12] Jones notes that the sky would have appeared with the same clear and pale blue that is still intact in a narrow strip along the top of the work, which had been protected from light and dirt by a frame. In its current condition the muted landscape appears to echo the sorrow of the mourning figures.[13]

X-rays show that there were few preparatory drawings made on the canvas before the paint was applied, although there is an underlayer of white chalk mixed with white lead. This is left exposed in some areas, most noticeably in the Virgin's veil and mantle and in Christ's shroud.[5] Infrared photography reveals little underdrawing but that the canvas underwent a number of changes before it was completed; Mary Salome was repositioned slightly to the left, the size of Nicodemus' arm and shoulder were reduced, and the Magdalen's face was painted over the Virgin's mantle.[5]

The work had been lined and restretched, probably by the same person who stretched and lined the other works identified with the larger altarpiece. It was placed under glass, probably sometime in the early 19th century and at least before its acquisition by the National Gallery (Eastlake noted that it was under glass in 1858).[14] The piece was evidently sent rolled and unframed to its patron. A brown border painted along the four sides serves to indicate where the frame should be positioned when it is added to its final support as it is framed.[15] However, the row of rust-stained nail holes running along the top of the cloth is evidence that the frame was eventually positioned within the pictorial field, at a point far lower than Bouts had intended.[13] This low framing protected a portion of the canvas from deterioration and allows us to see some of the colours as they would have appeared originally.

Polyptych

The Entombment was probably painted as part of a winged altarpiece created for export to Venice. Art historian Lorne Campbell proposed in 1998 that the altarpiece was a polyptych comprised a large central crucifixion scene with two works half its length and width positioned at either side. Based on the format of Bouts' c. 1464–67 Altar of Holy Sacrament, of which the four wing panels are of the same length as the The Entombment, Campbell's speculative reconstruction places the The Entombment on the upper right hand wing, above the Adoration.[16] The large center work has not been positively identified, but Campbell speculates that, given its size (181 × 153.5 cm) and similarity of material, technique, tone and colour, it may have been the damaged Crucifixion, now in the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels.[16]

Dirk Bouts' Crucifixion (before 1464) – Lorne Campbell speculates that a ruined panel now in Brussels was the center piece of the lost Scenes from the Life of Christ polyptych. He places The Entombment as the top right wing.[16]

Charles Eastlake first saw the work in 1858 while in Milan purchasing Northern Renaissance art on behalf of the National Gallery. He was made aware of three companion pieces, but told they were not on the market and so was not allowed to view them. The other works were described as: Annunciation (now in the J. Paul Getty Museum), Adoration of the Kings (now in a private collection), and Presentation (or Resurrection; now in the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California).

These works are the same size as The Entombment, have similar colouring and pigmentation and are painted using the same glue-size technique. It is probable that all were re-lined and stretched at the same time by the same restorer, which indicates that they were kept together until shortly before The Entombment was acquired by the National Gallery.[16]

Provenance and attribution

Bouts did not inscribe any of his paintings, which makes attribution and dating difficult. Bouts' ability to convey perspective grew over the 1460s, and his skill with that device is used by art historians to date works from the period. Although its colourisation is among his best work, the perspective in The Entombment is clumsy in areas, thus the painting can be assumed to date as no later than the mid-1460s. Moreover, Bouts often quoted visual passages from the artists and paintings that influenced his own work, so the influences are well established and datable. Along with the companion Resurrection, the work shows very specific influences from Rogier van der Weyden's Descent (c. 1435) and Miraflores Altarpiece (1440s), which allows it to be placed after 1440.[6] The influence of the Miraflores Altarpiece can be seen in the representation of Christ's dead body, while a small relief in the architecture of van der Weyden's center panel probably informed the positioning of Bouts' mourners.[17]

Rogier van der Weyden's Deposition, c. 1435. Oil on oak panel, 220 × 262 cm. Museo del Prado, Madrid

Charles Eastlake purchased the painting for just over £120 in 1860 in Milan. During a period of aggressive acquisition intended to establish the international prestige of England's collection, it was acquired along with a number of other Netherlandish works from the Guicciardi family.[6][18][14] Eastlake's notes mention that the works were "originally in the possession of the Foscari family". The Foscaris were a wealthy Venetian family which included a Doge of Venice and were known in England through Lord Byron's play The Two Foscari. There is no documentary evidence to substantiate the claim that the painting came from the Foscari collection, and some art historians believe that representatives of the Guicciardis invented this provenance to impress Eastlake. However, Campbell considers the provenance "probable", noting that a descendant, Fergio Foscari (1732–1811), although an ambassador to Saint Petersburg, squandered his fortune and may have been forced into selling pictures belonging to the family.[6]

The Guicciardi collection contained at least three other similar works in glue size, though of lesser quality; Eastlake's notebooks mention that they were "not so good (not so well preserved)". Their tone and size were similar to The Entombment, suggesting that they might have formed parts of a larger polyptych.[5] The Entombment was attributed to Lucas van Leyden at the time,[19] though Eastlake thought that, given its emotional power, it might be a van der Weyden.[20][21] Bouts studied under van der Weyden, and was strongly influenced by his work. The figuration and pose in The Entombment is probably informed by a relief seen in the arch of the central panel of van der Weyden's Miraflores Altarpiece.[4] The National Gallery did not attribute the work to Bouts until 1911.

In 1861, the painting arrived in London from Milan.[14] Two copies exist: an unsophisticated panel was sold in Munich to a private collector in 1934, and an oak panel attributed to a follower of Bouts is in the Kreuzlingen, Switzerland.[14]

  • Van der Weyden's Miraflores Altarpiece, c 1440 affected Bouts's figuration. Its influence can be seen in the central representation of Christ's dead body, while a small relief in the architecture of the center panel may have informed the positioning of Bout's mourners.[22]
    Van der Weyden's Miraflores Altarpiece, c 1440 affected Bouts's figuration. Its influence can be seen in the central representation of Christ's dead body, while a small relief in the architecture of the center panel may have informed the positioning of Bout's mourners.[22]
  • Bouts' 1464–67 Altar of the Holy Sacrament. Hypothetical reconstructions of the lost altarpiece that included The Entombment have been based on the structure of this work.
    Bouts' 1464–67 Altar of the Holy Sacrament. Hypothetical reconstructions of the lost altarpiece that included The Entombment have been based on the structure of this work.
  • Giovanni Bellini's Transfiguration of Christ is thought to be derived from Bouts' Entombment.[6]
    Giovanni Bellini's Transfiguration of Christ is thought to be derived from Bouts' Entombment.[6]

References

Notes

  1. ^ A medium also known as Tiichlein or Tüchlein
  2. ^ a b "The Entombment". Display caption, National Gallery, London. Retrieved 18 June, 2011.
  3. ^ van Veen, 297
  4. ^ a b c Campbell, 41
  5. ^ a b c d e f Campbell, 40
  6. ^ a b c d e Campbell, 44
  7. ^ The glue was produced by boiling animal skin or other tissue, mixing the result with pigment and applying it in thin layers to the cloth. See Jones, 10
  8. ^ For this reason these works were usually kept under curtains or glass for protection. See Jones, 62
  9. ^ a b Bomford, David. "Art in the Making: The Entombment". National Gallery, London. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  10. ^ Campbell, 39–41
  11. ^ Jones, 10
  12. ^ Jones, 11
  13. ^ a b Jones, 62
  14. ^ a b c d Campbell, 38
  15. ^ National Gallery technical bulletin, Volume 18, 1997. 25
  16. ^ a b c d e Campbell, 42
  17. ^ Davies, Martin. "Primitifs flamands. I, Corpus de la peinture des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux au quinzième siècle." The National Gallery Technical Bulletin, Volume I. Antwerp: De Sikkel, 1953
  18. ^ Reitlinger, Gerald. "The Economics of Taste: The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices, 1760–1960". London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1961. 311
  19. ^ Macfall, Haldane. "A History of Painting: The Renaissance in the North and the Flemish Genius Part Four". Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Publishing, 1911. 34
  20. ^ Van Leyden and van der Weyden were often mistaken for each other due to the similarity of their surnames, both of which have many different spellings in the historical and art historical record.
  21. ^ Borchert, 203
  22. ^ Davies, Martin. "Primitifs flamands. I, Corpus de la peinture des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux au quinzième siècle." The National Gallery Technical Bulletin, volume I. Antwerp: De Sikkel, 1953

Sources

  • Borchert, Till-Holger. "Collecting Early Netherlandish Paintings in Europe and the United States". in Ridderbos, Bernhard, Van Buren, Anne, Van Veen, Henk (eds). Early Netherlandish Paintings: Rediscovery, Reception and Research. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2005. ISBN 978-90-5356-614-5
  • Campbell, Lorne. The Fifteenth Century Netherlandish Paintings. London: National Gallery, 1998. ISBN 978-1-85709-171-7
  • Davies, Martin. Les Primitives Flamands. National Gallery, 1953.
  • Johnson, Charles. The Language of Painting. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1949.
  • Jones, Susan Frances. Van Eyck to Gossaert. London: National Gallery, 2011. ISBN 978-1-85709-504-3
  • Koch, Robert. "The Getty 'Annunciation' by Dieric Bouts". The Burlington Magazine, Volume 130, No. 1024, July 1988.
  • van Veen, Henk. Early Netherlandish paintings: Rediscovery, Reception, and Research. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2003. ISBN 9-0535-6614-7

Further reading

  • Bamford, David; Roy, Ashok; Smith, Alistair. "The Techniques of Dieric Bouts: Two Paintings Contrasted". The National Gallery Technical Bulletin. Volume 10, No 1, January 1986. 39–57
  • Roy, Ashok. National Gallery Technical Bulletin. Volume 8, 1984.
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