Retable of the Passion

The Passion Retable 
Kalkar, (Lower Rhine), ca. 1483
Painted and polychromous wood
H. 0.97 m ; W. 0.45 m (closed)
Acq. 1861; Cl. 3269

This small retable, reproducing a devotional altar, had a drawer to hold the church service accessories. The sculpture represents the Lamentation of Christ at the foot of the Cross, a theme particularly suited to the worried, morbid faith of the late Middle Ages. The Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi are painted on the outside panels. The inside panels display six scenes from the Passion of Christ. The presence of the Donor, a Chartreux kneeling in prayer, a representation of the city of Kranenburg as a background to the Adoration of the Magi, all point to the origin of the altarpiece, possibly the house acquired by the Roermond Chartreux in 1483 in Kranenburg, near Nimegue. Because of its refinement and sensitivity, this piece has been attributed to Arnt of Kalkar, whose masterpiece is the retable in Kalkar Church.