FRAGMENT OF A CRUCIFIXION

This rather tightly-composed relief must have formed part of an altarpiece dedicated to the Passion of Christ that was attributed as coming from workshops in Brussels around the year 1500 and which also used to hold another, similarly-styled relief depicting the Road to Calvary that now belongs to the Godia Foundation.

The Swooning of the Holy Virgin is usually positioned at the foot of the Crucifixion scene that normally stands at the centre of the altarpiece and which is usually larger than the contiguous reliefs. These two fragments, however, which measure slightly over a metre tall, are almost identical in size. Furthermore, they share the same scenario, decorated as they are with urban architecture seen behind some rocky cliffs that rise in the opposite direction. This, together with the orientation of the two horsemen travelling towards the interior of the relief, and the gesture of one of them signalling upwards, like the figure of the Centurion usually does, suggests that both fragments might well have formed part of the same composition flanking the Road to Calvary scene towards the centre of the altarpiece, but placed higher.