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Small altarpiece depicting the crucifixion, Flemish?, 15th Century
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SM MP285. ©Sir John Soane's Museum, London. Photo: Art UK
Small altarpiece depicting the crucifixion, Flemish?, 15th Century
Carved wood
Museum number: MP285
Not on display
Curatorial note
Soane installed this small-scale carved wooden altarpiece depicting Christ's crucifixion in the 'Monk's Cell' adjacent to his basement Monk's Parlour. It is ingeniously lit via a light shaft from above: this rises to a skylight installed in the gutter between the Picture Room lantern light and the rear parapet wall (the opening was found and this feature reinstated during the restoration of the rear roofs in 1990). Additional light was fed into the shaft via a sheet of glass installed in one of the cupboard doors in the Picture Room (the shallow cupboard had no floor enabling the light to enter the shaft). This feature was also reinstated in the 1990s. The lighting scheme is recorded in a drawing in the collection SM 32/3/19.
Associated items
32/3/19, associated project
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