The Descent from the Cross

Illustrated in 'Das Stundenbuch der Katharina von Kleve', commentary volume produced by Faaksimile Verlag Luzern (FVL), Lucerne, Switzerland, Oct 2009. Illistrated in 'Campin in Context' produced by Presses Universitaires de Valenciennes, 2007, p3-14, p183-190 & p341-342. This work is a small-scale copy of a large Flemish altapiece. Only fragments of the original survive, making this an important record of a lost masterpiece. The shocking imagery reflects an interest in naturalism that came about in Flemish art around this time. The reverse of the wings show St John the Baptist, dressed in camel skin, and St Julian, holiding a sword. They have been painted to look like sculptures. This is one of the artworks presented by the Liverpool Royal Institution. Liverpool’s economic development grew directly from Britain’s involvement with transatlantic slavery: the kidnapping, enslavement and forced migration of people from West Africa to the Americas and many to the Caribbean. Many members of the Royal Institution made their fortunes directly through the trade or indirectly through the wider economy. This wealth was largely how they were able to bring rare art and treasures, such as this, to the city.