Relief. Malines. Avant 1560.

An impressive Flemish parcel-gilt alabaster relief with Christ taken captive. Malines. C. 1575-1610. Restorations. Provenance: Prince Charles from Flanders (according to oral tradition); Blondeel, Antwerp, s.d. The relief depicts the moment in which Judas betrays Jesus by kissing him on the cheek to point out to the soldiers who his master is. The details are depicted according to the gospel written with minor differences by the four evangelists. The scene takes place in the garden of Gethsemane of which we the fence can be seen in the background. John specifies that a group of armed soldiers with torches, halberds and lanterns arrest Jesus. At the same time, the apostle Peter rebels and cuts off the ear of Malchus, an accomplice of the high priests who allegedly ordered the soldiers' arrest. Jesus heals his ear immediately afterwards. Another alabaster relief depicting the same scene with a similar composition is housed at the Stedelijk Museum in Tongeren (cf. BALaT nr. 13033). In addition, a similar composition by the hand of the sculptor Jacob Verhulst was sold at Christie's, 19.06.2018, lot 16. However, it should be noted that the size and quality of the present relief are exceptional. Possibly it served as a prototype for the other known smaller variants. The depiction of the anatomy of the muscular figures is of such a high quality that one would assume this relief to be the work of a renowned master. Unfortunately, this relief is not monogrammed, nor signed, which makes it difficult to attribute this intriguing artwork to a certain sculptor. 44 x 31 cm