Carved in relief and originally polychromed. The figure stands on an integrally carved, rising ground with Tremolierung carved with a curved gouge. There are remnants of gilding on the armour, blue paint on the hose and red paint on the boots.

Jaarverslag Nederlandse Rijksmusea 1973, p. 25; Jaarverslag Nederlandse Rijksmusea 1976, p. 17; K. Aben et al., ‘Conservering van de beelden van Soest’, Bulletin Centraal Laboratorium voor onderzoek van voorwerpen en kunst en wetenschap 1977, pp. 93-105

Badly worm-eaten and decayed. Among other things, two background figures are missing.

…; found in the Oude Kerk, Soest, with several other objects (BK-NM-12006-1 to -19), 1905;¹¹W. Vogelsang, ‘Vondst te Soest’, Bulletin van de Nederlandschen Oudheidkundigen Bond 4 (1905), pp. 187-96, pp. 190-91; J. Kalf, ‘Een belangrijke vondst’, Het huis, oud en nieuw. Maandelijks prentenboek gewijd aan huis, inrichting, bouw- en sierkunst 3 (1905), pp. 289-301. donated by the municipality of Soest to the museum, 1907

Object number: BK-NM-12006-15-A

Restoration work in the tower of the Oude Kerk in Soest in 1905 uncovered an important treasure trove of statues, albeit in a deplorable condition, in a bricked-up area (cf. BK-NM-12006-1 to 19). It is assumed that the figures were hidden there either in 1566 at the outbreak of the Iconoclasm or in December 1580, when Calvinists in the Eemland region endeavoured to destroy every last remnant of religious art.²²K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. p. 3.

Among the carvings were five small oak groups and a number of loose fragments that together belonged to a large Passion altarpiece. All that survive of the altar case are a few wooden consoles and lead ornaments (![fig. a][fig. a]). In all probability the altarpiece consisted of a case in the shape of an inverted T, with seven compartments for as many scenes from Christ’s Passion. The case must have been around four metres wide overall and between 155 and 180 centimetres high.³³Cf. the reconstruction by B. van der Mark in M. Leeflang et al. (eds.), Middeleeuwse beelden uit Utrecht 1430-1530, exh. cat. Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent)/Aachen (Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum) 2012-13, pp. 218-19 (ill.), based on K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. p. 11 and B. Nederveen, ‘Het passieretabel van Soest. Kanttekeningen bij een reconstructie’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 52 (2004), pp. 270-81, esp. p. 270. There was tracery (openwork Gothic ornament) above the altar groups. The placement of the scenes followed the chronology of the Passion story, with the Calvary, as usual, in the larger, central caisse or compartment. To the left of this scene was Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (BK-NM-12006-15-C), the Flagellation (BK-NM-12006-13) and Christ Carrying the Cross (BK-NM-12006-15-B), with The Entombment (BK-NM-12006-12) and Christ’s Descent into Limbo (BK-NM-12006-14) on the right. The (unknown) seventh scene would have been a Descent from the Cross, Lamentation, Resurrection or Ascension.⁴⁴K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. p. 11. In view of the chronology, the Resurrection and Ascension would have been in the seventh caisse of the altar case, the other two in the fifth. No elements of these have been identified to date.

The altarpiece must originally have been exceptionally fine. Remnants of gold leaf and brocade patterns indicate that the whole thing was elaborately decorated, and the carefully worked details, lively expressions and interaction between the figures attest to a very high standard of artistry. Countless style characteristics – such as the conspicuous lower eyelids of all the figures, the realism in their faces, the generally quite tight garments with few folds and the anecdotal nature of the scenes – are strong indications that the altar was created in the last quarter of the fifteenth century in Utrecht, not far from Soest.

Broekhuijsen-Kruijer gave the anonymous maker of the altar the provisional name of Master of the Soest Altarpiece. According to Leeuwenberg, two apostle figures that were also found in the church (BK-NM-12006-6) and (BK-NM-12006-9) were ‘in all likelihood by the same hand’. He saw similarities in ‘the eyes and the face, the rather thickset forms, and the whole character’.⁵⁵J. Leeuwenberg, assisted by W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, pp. 61-62. However, the inconsistent style of the folds of the garments and the different handling of hair and beards – slightly wavy in the altar fragments as opposed to curly in the apostle statues – do not support this attribution.

As Van Binnebeke pointed out, an Ecce Homo group in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, which he dated to around 1500 and located in Utrecht, with reservations, is stylistically akin to the Soest Altarpiece.⁶⁶Inv. no. N24a, see Van Binnebeke in P. van Dael et al., Hout- en steensculptuur. Beeldhouwkunst 1200-1800 in de collectie van het Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 1994, no. 54 The same soft-top boots, pointed shoes and rosette clasps are found in both pieces, as are the wispy hair and the variety of realistic and grotesque facial expressions. The quality of the Soest Altarpiece is superior, however.

This fragment is part of the Calvary scene from the Soest Altarpiece.⁷⁷See Context for general information about this altarpiece and an analysis of the style. The following fragments of this scene – which was in the large caisse in the centre of the altar – have survived: the crucified Christ’s pierced right foot, which was high in the middle of the composition (![fig. b][fig. b]), the left section with The Swoon of the Virgin (BK-NM-12006-11) and a separate fragment, shown here, with a Soldier looking up from the section to the right of the Cross.⁸⁸Nederveen demonstrated that the fragment with the other soldier (BK-NM-12006-15-B) should not be regarded as part of the Calvary group, as Broekhuijsen-Kruijer believed, but belonged to Christ Carrying the Cross. B. Nederveen, ‘Het passieretabel van Soest. Kanttekeningen bij een reconstructie’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 52 (2004), pp. 270-81, esp. pp. 272-73; K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. p. 6.

The Swoon group consists of a fainting Virgin in a loose robe, supported by St John the Evangelist (both heads are missing). The apostle wears a red cloak with yellow patterns; a rosary with large beads hangs from his belt. In the right foreground lies a skull, a permanent element in Calvary scenes. On the far left stands a weeping woman wearing a cap and chin-band. She is probably one of the Virgin’s half-sisters, Mary Cleophas or Mary Salome. Her sorrowful face, with slanted eyes and large nose, is strikingly similar to the less well preserved face of the Virgin Mary in the Entombment (BK-NM-12006-12).

In terms of the positioning of these three principal figures, the group corresponds to a print by the Master of the Berlin Passion and a fragment of a Utrecht Calvary made of polychromed pipeclay in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam.⁹⁹Inv. no. 1054 B, see P. van Dael et al., Hout- en steensculptuur. Beeldhouwkunst 1200-1800 in de collectie van het Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 1994, no. 53; for the print see M. Lehrs, Geschichte und kritischer Katalog des deutschen, niederländischen und französischen Kupferstichs im XV. Jahrhundert, Vienna 1908-34, no. 30. In the badly decayed group from Soest, however, there were originally at least two additional figures in the scene. To the left of the lamenting woman there is a small remnant of a garment with pressed brocade. This would probably be the garment of the Virgin’s other half-sister.¹⁰¹⁰K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. pp. 5-6. A photograph taken in 1905 also shows Mary Magdalene’s loose, flowing hair and deeply carved, fur-trimmed sleeve opening (![fig. c][fig. c]).¹¹¹¹K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16, esp. p. 5. She was a figure seen from behind on St John’s right side.

The soldier from the right-hand section of the Soest Calvary scene, shown here, turns towards the Cross, now missing. He wears a turban and a paltock with armour over it, top and bottom parts held together with a strap and buckle on the back and a sash worn low on the hips. He also wears poleyns, hose and high boots. This may be Longinus, who pierced Christ’s side with a spear. There is a pair of feet on the rocks in the background and another foot in a pointed shoe on the right. They indicate the presence of at least two more figures.

Bieke van der Mark, 2017

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 23a, with earlier literature; Jaarverslag Nederlandse Rijksmusea 1976, p. 17; K. Broekhuijsen-Kruijer, ‘Het Passieretabel uit Soest’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32 (1984), pp. 3-16; P. van Dael et al., Hout- en steensculptuur. Beeldhouwkunst 1200-1800 in de collectie van het Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 1994, p. 85; R. Smolders et al., Het geheugen van de hand. De vergankelijkheid van sculptuur, exh. cat. Deurne (Museum de Wieger) 1995, p. 43; B. Nederveen, Soest, tussen Amersfoort en Utrecht. Een studie naar de herkomst van de laatgotische sculptuur uit de Hervormde Kerk te Soest, Amsterdam 1999 (unpub. thesis University of Amsterdam), pp. 13-14, 93-96; J.H.M. Hilhorst and J.G.M. Hilhorst, Soest, Hees en De Birkt. Van de achtste tot de zeventiende eeuw, Hilversum 2001, pp. 239-40, 260, 278; B. Nederveen, ‘Het passieretabel van Soest. Kanttekeningen bij een reconstructie’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 52 (2004), pp. 270-81; Van der Mark in M. Leeflang et al., Middeleeuwse beelden uit Utrecht: 1430-1530/Mittelalterliche Bildwerke aus Utrecht: 1430-1530, exh. cat. Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent)/Aachen (Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum) 2012-13, no. 25b; J. Groenveld, ‘De Sint-Jansverering in een Sint-Vitusparochie voor 1580’, Tussen Vecht en Eem: Tijdschrift voor regionale geschiedenis 35 (2017), pp. 213-25, esp. p. 220

B. van der Mark, 2024, 'Meester van het retabel van Soest, Soldier (Longinus?), from the Calvary Scene of the Soest Altarpiece, Utrecht, c. 1475 - c. 1500', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200115808