THE PASSION ALTARPIECE

SUPPORT AND ELABORATION 

Flemish figures have survived to the present thanks to their forming part of a Baroque altarpiece. Almost eighty figures make up a vast sweeping scene that is continuous and completely unbroken. Some figures are taller than others, depending on whether they were destined to become foreground or background figures in the composition. A priori, in the absence of a more detailed examination, it would appear that the immediate surrounding framework is not the original.

The composition is made up of carved blocks distributed over different levels, the background figures of which are raised thanks to large wooden blocks being placed under them. Each block comprises one or several figures which, in turn, can be made up of several different parts. Figures are apparently nailed together. Six carved groups stand to the foreground. The original location of the figures has obviously been changed, as we can see by the obvious differences in the gaps between them, the way certain polychrome decoration has been hidden, etc..

Six small groups of carved figures stand on either side of the central section, probably imitating the layout of the original altarpiece.