Rijksmuseum: purchased sculpture is work of Claus Sluter

A sculpture that the Rijksmuseum acquired this spring was almost certainly made by the Dutch artist Claus Sluter. He is seen as the founder of Dutch sculpture and it is the first time that his work is on permanent display in a Dutch museum.

The 57 centimeter high boxwood statue Calvary depicts the crucifixion of Christ with Mary and John the Evangelist. As of today, it can be seen in the Amsterdam museum.

When it was purchased in March, the Rijksmuseum assumed that the work had been made around 1400 and must have originated from the world of the Burgundian court in Dijon, where Sluter was a court sculptor.

Inquiry after purchase

According to the Rijksmuseum, it only became clear during the investigation that Calvary showed great similarities with three other well-known works by Sluter. For example, it concerned the crooked tree trunk from which the cross of Christ is made. “Due to the unique combination of a number of special motifs in the image, this could only be the work of this genius innovator and his studio,” the museum writes.

Furthermore, scientific research into the boxwood used showed that the work indisputably dates from the fourteenth century. Therefore, according to the museum, it can convincingly be attributed to Sluter.

‘Unique sophistication’

Sluter (ca. 1350-1406), born in Haarlem, is regarded as one of the greatest innovators in medieval art. At the end of the fourteenth century he was court sculptor to Philip the Bold in Dijon.

According to curator and art historian Frits Scholten, Calvary unique because it is so refined. “He no longer worked according to fixed patterns, but really started to put people of flesh and blood. And that was quickly picked up in art in the Netherlands, among others by the Flemish Primitives and the Van Eyck brothers. A sculptor is working here who you could see it as the trailblazer for that realism.”

Deeply cherished wish

In 1939 the Rijksmuseum already tried to purchase two statuettes by Sluter. This failed due to the start of the Second World War.

With the successful purchase this spring, the Rijksmuseum received support from the Mondriaan Fund, among others, says director Taco Dibbits. “Thanks to the enormous generosity of funds and private donors, a deeply cherished wish of the Rijksmuseum has finally been fulfilled. To permanently display a work by the most important early sculptor from the Netherlands, Claus Sluter.”

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