Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece, 'The Deposition', about 1500-5
About the work
Overview
The removal of Christ’s body from the Cross takes place in what appears to be a shallow gilded niche. The setting, with its stiff geometric decoration around the arch, may be intended to resemble contemporary tabernacle altarpieces, which included three-dimensional carvings set beneath a canopy and were sometimes decorated with this kind of elaborate tracery.
A nimble boy at the very top of the painting attempts to support Christ’s weight while clinging on to the arm of the Cross, hooking one ankle over it to prevent himself from falling headlong. Joseph of Arimathea, who had offered up his family tomb for Christ, supports his upper body, which is received by Nicodemus, who, according to the Gospels, believed that Christ was the Son of God. The Virgin Mary is slumped on the ground, supported by John the Evangelist, while Mary Magdalene clasps a tense, bony hand to her head in shock and grief.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Deposition
- Artist dates
- active about 1470 to about 1510
- Date made
- about 1500-5
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 74.9 × 47.3 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1981
- Inventory number
- NG6470
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 20th-century Replica Frame
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Susan Foister, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800’, London 2024; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2014Strange Beauty: Masters of the German RenaissanceThe National Gallery (London)19 February 2014 - 11 May 2014
Bibliography
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1767A. Young, A Six Weeks Tour Through the Northern Counties of England, London 1767
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1854G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], vol. 2, trans. E. Eastlake, London 1854
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1879'The Private Collections of England, XLIV: Temple-Newsam, near Leeds', The Athenaeum, 2707, 1879
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1884L. Scheibler, 'Die hervorragenden Anonymen Meister und Werke der Kölner Malerschule von 1460 bis 1500', Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, VII, 1884
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1895E. Firmenich-Richartz (ed.), Kölnische Künstler im alter und neuer Zeit, Düsseldorf 1895
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1900E. Firmenich-Richartz, 'Der Meister des Heiligen Bartholomäus, II', Zeitschrift für Christliche Kunst, XIII, 1900
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1902C. Aldenhoven, Geschichte der Kölner Malerschule, Lübeck 1902
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1906M.J. Friedländer, 'Die Ausstellung Altdeutscher Kunst im Burlington Fine Arts Club zu London, Sommer 1906', Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, XXIX, 1906
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1906A. Vallance, 'Early German Art at the Burlington Fine Arts Club: The Pre-Dürerite Period', The Burlington Magazine, IX/40, 1906, pp. 254-64
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1925H. Reiners, Die Kölner Malerschule, Munich 1925
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1934A. Stange, Deutsche Malerei der Gotik, 11 vols, Munich 1934
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1941K. vom Rath, Der Meister des Bartholomäualtars, Bonn 1941
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1953P. Pieper, 'Miniaturen des Bartholomäus Meisters', Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch, XV, 1953, pp. 152-4
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1961P. Pieper, Kölner Maler der Spätgotik: Der Meister des Bartolomäus-Altares: Der Meister des Aachener Altares (exh. cat. Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, 25 March - 28 May 1961), Cologne 1961
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1967A. Stange, Der deutschen Tafelbilder vor Dürer. Kritisches Verzeichnis, Munich 1967
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1981C. Reynolds, 'The National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, CXXIII/941, 1981
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1982National Gallery, The National Gallery Report: January 1980 - December 1981, London 1982
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1985A. Smith, Early Netherlandish and German Paintings, London 1985
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1990D. Connell, 'A Victorian Art Lover, the Hon. Mrs Meynell Ingram', Leeds Art Calendar, 106, 1990, pp. 17-27
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1991J. Dunkerton et al., Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery, New Haven 1991
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1993N. MacGregor, A Victim of Anonymity: The Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece, London 1993
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1997U. Nürnberger, The Late Medieval Workshop of the Master of the St. Bartholomew Altar: An Investigation of Underdrawings and Paintings, Phd Thesis, Indiana University 1997
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1997R. Billinge et al., 'Methods and Materials of Northern European Painting in the National Gallery, 1400–1550', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XVIII, 1997, pp. 6-52
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2000B. Corley, Painting and Patronage in Cologne 1300-1500, Turnhout 2000
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2000G. Finaldi, The Image of Christ, London 2000
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2001R. Budde and R. Krischel, Genie ohne Namen: Der Meister des Bartolomäus-Altars, (exh. cat. Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, 19 May - 20 August 2001), Cologne 2001
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2024S. Foister, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800, 2 vols, London 2024
Frame
This reproduction frame was made at the Gallery in 1977. It is crafted from oak, which has been stained and polished. Its subtle design is based on the Flemish frame tradition. A fillet at the top edge curves down to a narrow half-round moulding. This leads into a hollow with a step down at the sight edge.
At an unknown point in its history, the original engaged frame from The Deposition was removed.
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
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