Maerten de Vos
, Flemish, 1532-1603
Title
The Resurrection of Christ
Datec.1564
MediumOil on wood panel
Dimensions
156 x 135 cm
Credit LinePresented, in memory of Dr Gerald Doyle by his wife and children, 2013
Object numberNGI.2013.22
DescriptionDe Vos was the most important artist in Antwerp after the death of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Frans Floris and before the rise of Peter Paul Rubens. He was active both as a painter, draughtsman and a designer of prints. De Vos completed a large number of altarpieces for Antwerp churches that had been the target of the major iconoclastic riots of 1566. Although the moment Christ miraculously returned to life following his Crucifixion was not described in the Scriptures, it was a popular subject in sixteenth-century Netherlandish art, particularly in altarpieces. As the present painting is of considerable dimensions, it was probably conceived as the central panel of a triptych that lost its wings at a later date. It is among de Vos’s earliest extant works, exhibiting the artist’s early Mannerist style. This is characterised by dramatic compositions filled with numerous figures in contorted poses. The Christ figure, by contrast, is monumental, elegant and classicist in style. (National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide, 2016)
Exhibition HistoryNew Perspectives. Acquisitions 2011 - 2020, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 11 May - 2 August 2021
Label TextDe Vos was the most important artist in Antwerp after the death of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and before the rise of Rubens. Although the moment of Christ’s resurrection was not described in the Bible, it became a popular subject in sixteenth‑century Netherlandish art, particularly in altarpieces. This painting was probably conceived as the central panel of a triptych that later lost its wings. It exhibits the artist’s early Mannerist style, characterised by dramatic compositions laden with figures in contorted poses. Christ, by contrast, is imbued with a sculptural monumentality associated with Renaissance classicism.