St John the Evangelist thumbnail 1
St John the Evangelist thumbnail 2
+2
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 50a, The Paul and Jill Ruddock Gallery

St John the Evangelist

Statue
1613 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is an alabaster statue made by Hendrick de Keyser in Netherland, 1613. This figure is normally displayed on the roodloft from the Cathedral of 's-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc), beneath which it now stands. It is known to have been sculpted by one of the greatest Netherlandish sculptors of the early seventeenth century (the rest of the ensemble was probably made in the workshop of Coenraed van Norenberch).

The southern Netherlands were an important centre for the production of alabaster sculpture during the 15th century, and while not producing the numbers that the English alabaster workshops turned out, they certainly exceeded their English counterparts in quality of craftsmanship. The English alabaster-carvers dominated the lower end of the market, catering for patrons right across Europe who could not afford to spend very much but were eager to furnish their parish churches and homes with religious imagery. The Netherlandish workshops, by contrast, produced fewer but many times more carefully finished alabaster sculptures, which were also considerably more expensive to buy.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSt John the Evangelist (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Alabaster
Brief description
Alabaster statue, part of the Hertogenbosch rood loft, by Hendrick De Keyser, Netherlands, 1613.
Physical description
Alabaster statue of St. John the Evangelist, part of the 's-Hertogenbosch rood loft.
Dimensions
  • Height: 156cm
Subject depicted
Summary
This is an alabaster statue made by Hendrick de Keyser in Netherland, 1613. This figure is normally displayed on the roodloft from the Cathedral of 's-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc), beneath which it now stands. It is known to have been sculpted by one of the greatest Netherlandish sculptors of the early seventeenth century (the rest of the ensemble was probably made in the workshop of Coenraed van Norenberch).

The southern Netherlands were an important centre for the production of alabaster sculpture during the 15th century, and while not producing the numbers that the English alabaster workshops turned out, they certainly exceeded their English counterparts in quality of craftsmanship. The English alabaster-carvers dominated the lower end of the market, catering for patrons right across Europe who could not afford to spend very much but were eager to furnish their parish churches and homes with religious imagery. The Netherlandish workshops, by contrast, produced fewer but many times more carefully finished alabaster sculptures, which were also considerably more expensive to buy.
Bibliographic references
  • White, A. England c. 1560-c. 1660: A Hundred Years of Continental Influence. Journal of the Church Monuments Society. VII, 1992. pp. 43, 66. fig. 38.
  • Hubbard, C. Alabaster Conservation. V&A Conservation Journal. April 1993. no. 7. pp. 8-10.
  • Trusted, Majorie. ed. The Making of Sculpture: the Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: V&A Publications, 2007. p. 112. pl. 199.
  • Modeste barok. Beeldwerk in Brabant in de zeventiende en achttiende eeuw. p. 9. fig. 1. Catalogue of the exhibition held Museum voor Religieuze Kunst, Uden, 1994.
  • Scholten, F. Sumptuous Memories: Studies in Seventeenth-century Dutch Tomb Sculpture. Zwolle: Waanders, 2003. p. 11.
  • Also see bibliographic reference of 1046:1-1871
  • Luijten, Ger, Dawn of the Golden Age: Northern Netherlandish Art 1580-1620, Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, 1994.
Collection
Accession number
1046:11-1871

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 29, 2000
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest