キリストの受難と最後の審判

1440年頃

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 605

人類の救済のためにキリストが犠牲となった場面と、最後の審判を対比させたこの2 枚の絵画は、15世紀ヨーロッパの最も高名な画家でブルージュで活動したヤン・ファン・エイクの後期の作品です。《キリストの受難》は、目撃者の視点から、遠方を背景に場面が描かれています。一方、三層に整理されている《最後の審判》では、人物の大きさがそれぞれの重要度に合わせて描かれています。制作当時の額縁に書かれている文章の内容が驚くほど忠実に再現されており、言葉と絵画の相互作用を形成しています。《最後の審判》の上半分は一部助手によって描かれたものです。

The Crucifixion; The Last Judgment, Jan van Eyck (Netherlandish, Maaseik ca. 1390–1441 Bruges), Oil on canvas, transferred from wood — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

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33.92a

33.92b

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Fig. 1. “The Holy Women at the Tomb,” plaque from the Reliquary of the Stone of the Sepulcher of Christ, Byzantine, 1150–1200, Constantinople (Musée du Louvre, Paris © 1987 RMN-Grand Palais, Musée du Louvre / Daniel Arnaudet)

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Fig. 2. Barthélemy d’Eyck, “Sainte Hostie de Dijon,” from Hours of René d’Anjou, 1442–43 (British Library, London, MS. Egerton 1070, fol. 110. © The British Library)

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Fig. 3. 15th-century reliquary cross with three host relics at the center. Estienne Ydens, "Histoire du S. Sacrement de Miracle," 1605, p. 72.

Fig. 4. Infrared reflectography (IRR) of the underdrawing in "The Crucifixion"

Fig. 5. Infrared reflectography (IRR) of the underdrawing in "The Last Judgment"

Fig. 6. Infrared reflectography (IRR) detail of the underdrawing in "The Last Judgment" showing the crown on the Virgin’s head

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Fig. 7. Hypothetical reconstruction of the Miraculous Bleeding Host reliquary shrine for the chapel in the Church of Saints Michel and Gudula, 1436–38 © C. La Fontaine

Fig. 8. Infrared reflectography (IRR) detail of the proposed portraits of Cardinal Albergati and Philip of Burgundy in "The Crucifixion"

Fig. 9. Painted detail of the proposed portraits of Cardinal Albergati and Philip of Burgundy in "The Crucifixion"

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Fig. 10. Jan van Eyck, "Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati," ca. 1435, silverpoint drawing, 21.2 x 18 cm (Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden; photo: Herbert Boswank)

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Fig. 11. Jan van Eyck, "Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati," 1438, oil on wood, 34 x 29.5 cm (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna © KHM-Museumsverband)

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Fig. 12. Reconstruction of the 33.92ab in an Italian-style tabernacle frame, according to the 16th-century inventory © Drawing Dan Kershaw

Fig. 13. Reverse of 33.92ab showing inscriptions on the transfer canvases

Fig. 14. Inner sides of frames, oriented reverse to reverse, showing recesses for hinges

Fig. 15. Detail of outer sides of frames, oriented face to face, holes left by latching hardware indicated with arrows

Fig. 16. Details of x-radiographs with arrows showing cavities associated with hardware from triptych arrangement, above a similarly positioned latch ©Verougstraete 2015, p.109, fig. b.

Fig. 17. Detail from "Tthe Crucifixion" in normal light and infrared reflectograms; yellow arrows indicate the bold underdrawing, while white arrows indicate the finer underdrawn lines

Fig. 18. Detail from "Tthe Crucifixion" in normal light and infrared reflectograms; yellow arrows indicate the bold underdrawing, while white arrows indicate the finer underdrawn lines

Fig. 21. The lower member of “The Last Judgment” frame shown in: A. Before treatment photography B. X-radiography C. Lead distribution map obtained by macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) D. After treatment photography. ©The Met, Departments of Paintings Conservation and Scientific Research

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Fig. 22. Profile drawing of frame. W 1 3/8 in. 3.5 cm (T. Newbery)

View of Jan van Eyck's "Crucifixion" and "Last Judgment" installed in a European paintings gallery at The Met Fifth Avenue

Unlocking the Mysteries of Two Jan van Eyck Frames, Part Five: Mysteries Unlocked

With the mysterious text deciphered and the Crucifixion and Last Judgment back in the galleries, curator Maryan Ainsworth muses on the ways in which the frames serve as an integral part of Jan van Eyck's conception for the paintings.

A man wearing a headpiece with magnifying glass closely inspects a wooden painting frame in a sunlit conservation studio

Unlocking the Mysteries of Two Jan van Eyck Frames, Part Four: What Does the Text Mean?

Now that the originality of the newly uncovered texts on the frames of Jan van Eyck's Crucifixion and Last Judgment had been determined, it was time to engage an ace paleographer, Marc Smith, to help decipher these mysterious fragments of words and phrases.

A group of art experts hold a discussion in a brightly lit conservation studio

Unlocking the Mysteries of Two Jan van Eyck Frames, Part Three: Addressing Questions of Display

Having recognized through technical examinations that the mysterious fragmentary texts discovered on the frames of Jan van Eyck's Crucifixion and Last Judgment were original, a paintings conservator discusses the options for revealing the original inscriptions and how best to restore the frames for presentation in the galleries.

Detail view of one section of the frame for Jan van Eyck's "The Last Judgment"

Unlocking the Mysteries of Two Jan van Eyck Frames, Part Two: Imaging the Hidden Details

After a hidden fragmentary text was discovered in the frames of two of the Museum's most treasured paintings, a research scientist and a paintings conservator got down to work performing technical examinations to determine whether the text was original to the paintings.

Composite image showing a detail of the Archangel from Jan Van Eyck's "The Last Judgment" and a detail view of an X-radiograph image of the artwork's frame

Unlocking the Mysteries of Two Jan van Eyck Frames

The discovery of a mysterious fragmentary text on the frames of two of the Museum's most treasured paintings brought together curators, conservators, scientists, and a paleographer to uncover the meaning of the text and the history of the frames. In this article, the detective work begins.