Back at M: the 16th-century Passion Retable

Back at M

The 16th-century Passion Retable

In medieval churches had altarpieces of all shapes and sizes. One important sculpted specimen of that great opulence does remain: the Passion Retable. From June, it will (again) be part of M’s collection presentation, and visitors can follow how the five-century-old masterpiece is examined and restored.

We examine this work on the floor. That way, every visitor can watch along

Marjan Debaene

Hoofdconservator Oude Kunst

Marjan Debaene, Head of Old Masters: “Retable” is another word for altarpiece: a work of art that was placed on an altar. This could be a painting but or, as here, a sculpture. Retables tell a story of Christ, of Mary, of the patron saint of the church ... On the one hand, our retable depicts the passion, the suffering and crucifixion of Christ. On the other hand, the bottom of the work also has key scenes from his childhood. A combination that was quite common in those days.”

16e-eeuws Passieretabel uit de collectie van M Leuven — © Elias Derboven voor M Leuven

Hand

“Unfortunately, we have no information about who ordered the retable, who made it, or when it arrived in Leuven. Based on the style, we can say that it dates from around 1520-1525. It is also definitely from Antwerp. From the 1450s onwards, the rules of some Brabant crafts stipulate that their products must be marked with what you might call a quality label. In Antwerp, that mark is the Antwerp hand and the Antwerp castle, and that is what we find on this retable.”

“Very likely, the retable would have been made off-the-shelf - a form of art production that took hold from the late 15th century onwards. Previously, retables, paintings and other works of art were mostly made on demand. When a client ordered a piece, the artist executed it. But gradually, some form of serial production emerged. These were traded in indoor art markets - in Antwerp, for example, it was the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwpand. There, you could literally buy a retable at a market stall, using a kind of catalogue of half-finished elements. You could add your own touch to that, specific scenes you might want at the top and what the bottom row should look like. You could also have painted, or sometimes even carved, side panels added. We think our Passion Retable had hatches too, as there are attachment points. Presumably they were paintings as that was the custom in Antwerp at the time.”

More Gothic than Gothic

“Very likely, the retable would have been purchased for the main altar of the chapel of the then Augustine convent, on the Herrigin site on Brussels Street. In 1765, they restored the chapel and removed the retable but we do not know to where. In 1848, it turned up again at Van Dale College in Naamsestraat. From 1951 it was part of the Treasury of the Great Beguinage, and it has now been here at our museum since 1966.”

“We also know it was repainted in the 19th century. Presumably, the original coat of paint was no longer in the best of condition, but it might also have been about taste. Neo-Gothic was wildly popular in the 19th century. That harkened back to the architecture and art of the Middle Ages, a tradition of which the Passion Retable is a part. But neo-Gothic was sometimes more Gothic than the original Gothic. That 19th-century repainting made the retable more colourful than it was originally. But at least it still exists. Many works of art were simply thrown away when they no longer considered fashionable, or were lost during wars or fires.”

“But the original retable was certainly also quite colourful. The makers used all kinds of pigments that we also find in paintings of the time, and they applied them carefully and thoughtfully, using the same techniques as their fellow painters. Large parts were gilded all kinds of decoration techniques were used. It is like sgraffito: you put a layer of paint over a sheet metal, usually gold leaf, sometimes silver leaf. You then scratch drawings, patterns or letters into the paint, exposing the sheet metal in those places. The retable has a lot of those decoration techniques, but in its current state that is hard to see.”

“In the 1960s, the neo-Gothic painting was removed again to reveal the original layer of colour. Sadly, that also caused some damage. There was apparently also a problem with the adhesion of the layer of paint to the wood, most likely it flaked off. To fix that, they applied wax to it. That makes everything stick down well, but it is actually a temporary solution. There is also now so much wax on the retable that it looks a bit odd. In some places it shines too brightly, in others it is too dull. On top of that, wax attracts dust and makes it less transparent which in turn makes it harder to read the retable.”

Come and see

“For years, we have been dreaming of exploring the Passion Retable. There is incredible value in being able to dismantle and dissect a piece like this. You certainly need a good reason for that, and there is one: the retable needs restoration. So we want to link a research project with a restoration project.”

“First, we will look at what work is needed and what research questions we can define. Once that study phase is over, we will have a plan, so to speak. For example, we would like to check all the markings, including the ones we cannot see now. A 3D scan is another thing we want to do. We also want to map out how many parts the retable is composed of, the buildings, arches, landscapes and so on are all separate elements. The question will be whether we have to, or even can, dismantle everything. We would never wish to cause further damage.”

“What is needed? What is desirable? Those are the kinds of questions that we want to consider together with a team of specialists. At this point, the ideal restoration for me involves taking off that layer of wax, and returning everything to a physically stable state that matches the original retable as much as possible and makes the beautiful details more readable again. It will be quite an adventure. Everyone will be able to follow it, because all the while the retable will be in the hall.”