Workshop of Jan de BEER (active in Antwerp between... Lot 3

Workshop of Jan de BEER (active in Antwerp between 1495 and 1528) Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John Panel transposed on wood 108 x 70,5 cm The painting is based on a composition by Jan De Beer. Of the three autographed versions (Münich, Alte pinakothek; Cologne, Kolumba Museum and Switzerland, private collection) it is close to the one in the Kolumba Museum which is the last crucifixion painted by Jan De Beer and one of his last works. Although the general idea and the motifs are already known in the artist's work, there is a certain gravity in the emotions, which was unheard of for the painter at the time. The fifteen or so painted or drawn versions of this Crucifixion bear witness to the popularity of an image that was to be widely distributed. For the most part, the landscape and the two figures in the left background are identical to the prototype, even if the viewpoint is a little further away. Elsewhere, there are a few variations: the head of Christ, which is oriented to the right in the Kolumba Museum version, is here oriented to the left. The blood gushing from Christ's wound does not flow into the chalice held by the angel as in the Cologne composition, and there are some color differences in the clothing: the tunic of the angel at the foot of Christ is no longer yellow but white, that of St. John is no longer blue but red, while Mary Magdalene's headdress and scarf, which were yellow in Cologne, have become blue. The motif on the brocade of the angel on the left seems to be a pomegranate, a fruit symbolizing the Eucharist.