The Art Institute of Chicago

Corpus of Christ, from the Altarpiece of the Crucifixion

Wood with gilding and traces of polychromyJacques de Baerze (Netherlandish, active before 1384–1399) Melchior Broederlam (Netherlandish, about 1355–about 1411)/1391–99

Description

Corpus of Christ was originally the focal point of a large triptych combining painting and sculpture that was commissioned in 1390 by Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, for the newly founded Charterhouse of Champol outside Dijon. Philip intended this monastery as a dynastic burial place, and he and his successors endowed it with artistic treasures. The triptych was a collaboration between two important artists from the Flemish territories controlled by Philip the Bold: the sculptor Jacques de Baerze and the painter Melchior Broederlam. When open, the altarpiece showed carved reliefs of the Crucifixion, the Adoration of the Magi, and the Entombment together with standing figures of saints. The gilded center could be covered by movable wings whose backs, painted with scenes from the Infancy of Christ by Broederlam, were visible when the altarpiece was closed. The triptych still survives in Dijon (Musée des Beaux-Arts), but the central figure of the crucified Christ was removed during the French Revolution. Even separated from its context within the altarpiece, however, the crucified Christ remains a powerfully expressive work. Christ’s tensed hands and feet and earthy features are realistically observed, while the curving contour of his torso and the folds of his loincloth reflect a more courtly ideal.

Provenance

Commissioned by Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, for the Chartreuse de Champmol, Dijon, France, 1390, and installed there on the high altar of the Saint-Jean Chapel by Melchior Broederlam, 1399 [see Müller 1966]; removed to the abbey of Saint-Bénigne, Dijon, 1792 [see Musée de Beaux-Arts de Dijon 1960; Goetz 1950, p. 159; and Cleveland 2004 exh. cat.]; transferred to the Musée de Beaux-Arts de Dijon, 1818/19 [see Goetz 1950, p. 159; Chabeuf 1910, p. 123; Musée de Beaux-Arts de Dijon 1960, which gives the date as 1818; and Cleveland 2004 exh. cat., which gives the date as 1819]. Paul Buffet, Dijon, after 1841 [see Goetz 1950, pp. 159-60; Vitry 1907, pp. 4–5; and Gillerman 2001, p. 22]; given to François Dameron (d. 1900), Dijon, and held in his possession until 1900 [see Goetz 1950, p. 160; Vitry 1907, p. 5; and Chabeuf 1910, p. 122]; by descent to his widow (d. 1906), Dijon [see sources cited above]; sold to a second-hand dealer (“brocanteur”), Dijon, 1906 [see Goetz 1950, p. 160]. Marcel Bing, Paris, by 1907 [see Vitry 1907 and Gillerman 2001, p. 22]; sold to Bertha Honoré Palmer (d. 1918), Chicago, 1910 [see letter from Marcel Bing to Bertha Honoré Palmer, 13 May 1910, in curatorial file]; by descent to her son, Honoré Palmer, Chicago; given to the Art Institute, 1944.

Dimensions

27.7 × 18.3 × 5.2 cm (11 × 6 1/4 × 2 1/16 in.)

Source

The Art Institute of Chicago

Movement / Period

14th century

Accession No

52560

Official Citations

[The Art Institute of Chicago Official Record][Full Resolution Image]

Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of Jacques de Baerze (Netherlandish, active before 1384–1399) Melchior Broederlam (Netherlandish, about 1355–about 1411)

14th century • Flanders • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries

Continuous Discovery