Christ’s Descent into Limbo

anonymous

These three groups, from a large Crucifixion altar, reveal how colourful most Gothic sculpture originally was. During a recent restoration, small slivers of glass were found in the old pigment; this would have added to the glittering impression of the whole. Research of the oak shows that the sculptures were carved after c. 1420, the felling date of the tree.

c. 1440

Gilding

48.5 x 60.5 x 22.3 cm

BK-1962-33

Image and text courtesy of Rijksmuseum, 2019