Worship of the Golden Calf

• Worship of the Golden Calf
• Triptych with the Adoration of the Golden Calf

Triptych with the Adoration of the Golden Calf

SK-A-3841

This biblical narrative, showing the Israelites who were disloyal to God by worshipping the golden statue of a calf, was set by Lucas van Leyden in a continuous landscape. The triptych warns against faithlessness and debauchery. The choice of this rare subject is perhaps connected to the rise of Protestantism, with its strong aversion to the Roman Catholic veneration of religious images.

W.S. Gibson, 'Recensie van: J.P. Fliedt Kok, W.Th. Kloek & I.M. Veldman (red.)', Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 29 (1978), Simiolus 11 (1980), p. 108.

painter: Lucas van Leyden, Leiden

c. 1530

olieverf op paneel

• height 91.7 cm x width 30.2 cm
• height 93.5 cm x width 66.9 cm
• height 91.8 cm x width 30.2 cm

purchase 1952-06

Public domain

…; recorded in a house in Kalverstraat, Amsterdam, 1604;{Van Mander 1604, fol. 213v.} …; collection Jaspar Losschaert [Loskert] (?-1658), Herengracht 214, Amsterdam;{Annotations Hendrik Houmes, Medemblik, 1671; transcribed in Moes 1889, p. 150; estate inventory, Jaspar Losschaert, SAA, notary A. Lock, HNA 2182, fol. 185, 16 June 1667; with thanks to S.A.C. Dudok van Heel.} his nephew, Jacob Wuytiers [Woutiers] (c. 1613-79), Herengracht 214, Amsterdam;{Estate inventory, Jaspar Losschaert, SAA, notary A. Lock, HNA 2182, fol. 185, 16 June 1667; with thanks to S.A.C. Dudok van Heel.} his estate inventory, 14 April 1679 (`een schilderij van het vergulde Kalf gedaan van Lucas van Leyden´);{SAA, notary A. Lock, HNA 2256, fols. 289-92, 14 April 1679, no. 1; see Bredius 1913, p. 205. With thanks to S.A.C. Dudok van Heel.} his nephew, Dirck Wuytiers; his nephew and brother-in-law, Jacob Cromhout (1651-1708), Lord of Nieuwkercke, Herengracht 364;{Jacob Cromhout was married to Margaretha Wuytiers. With thanks to S.A.C. Dudok van Heel.} his sale (`en noch eenige konstige Stukken, gekomen uyt het Cabinet van Zalig. Jasper Loskart´), Amsterdam, sold on the premises (J.P. Zomer), 7 May 1709 sqq., no. 31 (`Daarse om ´t Gulden Kalf dansen, met een meenigte van Beelden, van Lucas van Leyden, in een schone Kas, ongemeen fraey´), fl. 1,470;{Copy RKD; Hoet I, 1752, p. 133, no. 25.} …; sale, Marquis de Blasiel (†), Paris (C. Pillet), 16 March 1870 sqq., no. 78, frs. 6,200, to Fichet;{Copy RKD.} …; from the deceased estate of Veuve Mme Bignier (?-1952), 5 Rue de Lissabone, Paris, frs. 2,800,000 (fl. 30,500), to the museum, June 1952; on loan to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 2004-10

Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

• W.S. Gibson, 'Recensie van: J.P. Fliedt Kok, W.Th. Kloek & I.M. Veldman (red.)', Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 29 (1978), Simiolus 11 (1980), p. 108.
• J.P. Filedt Kok, 'Underdrawings and other technical aspects of Lucas van Leyden', Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 29 (1978), p. 101-114, 169-170.
• D. Freedberg, 'The hidden God: image and interdiction in the Netherlands in the sixteenth century', in: Art History, vol. 5 nr. 2 (Juni 1982), p. 142, afb. 17
• K. Posner en Robert van Langh [red.], Supporting Conservation : Four projects funded by Gieskes-Strijbis Fonds, Amsterdam 2015, p. 52, afb. 36.
• 'De favoriet... van Jan Piet Filedt Kok', De Rijksmuseum Kunstkrant 21 (1996) nr. 5, p. 20-21.
• E. van de Wetering, Rembrandt : the painter at work, Amsterdam 2009, p. 148, fig. 184 (detail)
• L.A. Silver, 'The Sin of Moses: Comments on the Early Reformation in a Late Painting by Lucas van Leyden', Art Bulletin 60 (1973), p. 407-409, afb. 5.
• N. Beets, 'De dans om het gouden kalf : een hervonden triptiek van Lucas van Leyden', Oud Holland 67 (1952).

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:

https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200109429