Attributed to Hendric Roesen

Description

This elegant sculpture depicts a saint standing on a low octagonal base. His left foot is visible. His head is leaning to the right. The saint is depicted beardless, with striking facial characteristics. He wears a high ‘mitra pretiosa’ (1) in gold, with red lappets running down over his back. The bishop wears affluent Episcopal vestments. Over his plain white alb he wears a red dalmatic with gold fringes. As outer garment the wears a rich gold chasuble lined in blue (2). His neck is covered by an elaborate white amice. In addition the bishop wears pontifical gloves in red. An interesting detail is the maniple (3) on the left arm, held together by a bow. The fingers of the right and the left hand are partially missing. The left of the base is fractured. Notable are the high quality and detail of the sculpture and the richness of the polychrome and gilding.

Attribution

This sculpture is attributed to the Flemish sculptor Hendric Roesen (or Roosen), who had a workshop in Louvain at the end of the fifteenth and the first quarter of the sixteenth century (4). This sculpture features some characteristics that can be found in other works by this master. Most notable are the typical facial characteristics and the drapery at the rim of the alb (5). In addition, the high sculptural quality points at the hand of a master. The backside of the sculpture features two unidentified flower-shaped guild’s or master’s marks (6). Possibly, these are the marks of Roesen’s workshop.

Identification and iconography

Since any personal attributes and the crosier have been lost, it is impossible to identify the saint with certainty. However, the combination of the mitre, the chasuble worn over a dalmatic and the pontifical gloves enables us to identify the saint as a bishop. Van Gerwen suggests the sculpture may represent Nicolas of Myra, due to his posture and his hand raised in benediction. (7) A fracture at the right side of the base my even further support this claim, since the most common attribute of St. Nicolas, a barrel with three young boys, may have stood at this place. However, the identification of the bishop still remains speculative.

Notes

(1) The mitre is a type of headgear known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Catholic Church. The ‘mitra pretiosa’ (Latin for 'precious') is traditionally decorated with precious stones and gold and worn on Sundays and religious feasts and is part of the pontifical Episcopal vestments.
(2) The traditional ‘Caeremoniale Episcoporum’ requested bishops to wear a dalmatic beneath the chasuble.
(3) The maniple is a liturgical vestment used primarily within the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. It consists of a band fabric that when worn hangs from the left arm. It is only used within the context of the Mass.
(4) Crab, J. (1977). Het Brabants Beeldsnijcentrum. Leuven; Engelen, C. (1993). Zoutleeuw. Jan Mertens en de laatgotiek. Leuven, hoofdstuk VII, pp. 219-228; Gerwen, Ch. van & Gerwen, H. van (1981). Collectie Van Gerwen-Lemmens. Schatkamer van de Kempen. Valkenswaard: Museum van Gerwen-Lemmens, p. 40
(5) Crab, J. (1979). Het Laatgotische Beeldsnijcentrum. Leuven,pp. 124-137
(6) The flower shaped mark often refers to the city of Brussels, but this type of flower is distinctly different from the ones found on the present sculpture.
(7) Van Gerwen, 1981, p. 40