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Pietà, stained glass oval, Netherlandish, 17th century
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Pietà, stained glass oval, Netherlandish, 17th century
Clear glass with brown paint, yellow stain and blue, and red enamel. The green colour was probably produced by a combination of blue enamel and yellow stain
Height: 180mm, approximate
Width: 150mm, approximate
Width: 150mm, approximate
Museum number: SG134
On display: Staircase - first to second floor (pre-booked tours only)
All spaces are in No. 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields unless identified as in No. 12, Soane's first house.
For tours https://www.soane.org/your-visit
Curatorial note
Mary sits on a hillock beside a stream which flows by cliffs to the sea. Three crosses stand on the cliff-top. The body of Christ, wearing a loincloth, lies across his mother's lap, one arm reaching to the ground. In the foreground lie the instruments of the passion with nails and the crown of thorns.
The red-tinged haloes, the clear articulation of Christ's body, the modelling of the knees and of the fingers, together with the form and subtlety of colouring in the foliage and sky are characteristic of the style of the school of Jan de Caumont, as Cole has pointed out. There is much stippling of the paint and enamels to give texture, and a minimum of scratch marks which are confined to the sky and foreground. A less well-painted version at St Peter's, Nowton (Suffolk) has a sword at Mary's breast and is attributed by Cole and Maes to the related school of Caumont. The Soane panel was illustrated by Cole in his article on Jan de Caumont’s work in Britain, the only example of Soane’s glass to have previously been published other than in the Museum’s publications.
The red-tinged haloes, the clear articulation of Christ's body, the modelling of the knees and of the fingers, together with the form and subtlety of colouring in the foliage and sky are characteristic of the style of the school of Jan de Caumont, as Cole has pointed out. There is much stippling of the paint and enamels to give texture, and a minimum of scratch marks which are confined to the sky and foreground. A less well-painted version at St Peter's, Nowton (Suffolk) has a sword at Mary's breast and is attributed by Cole and Maes to the related school of Caumont. The Soane panel was illustrated by Cole in his article on Jan de Caumont’s work in Britain, the only example of Soane’s glass to have previously been published other than in the Museum’s publications.
Literature
P. V. Maes, ’Oud Leuvens Brandglass in Engeland’, Arca Lovaniensis 1 (1972):189-201
William Cole, ‘Small Panels in the Style of Jan de Caumont in England’, Arca Lovaniensis 18 (1989): 63-94
Catalogue of the Stained Glass in Sir John Soane's Museum, Special Issue of the Journal of Stained Glass 2004, p. 280
William Cole, ‘Small Panels in the Style of Jan de Caumont in England’, Arca Lovaniensis 18 (1989): 63-94
Catalogue of the Stained Glass in Sir John Soane's Museum, Special Issue of the Journal of Stained Glass 2004, p. 280
Soane collections online is being continually updated. If you wish to find out more or if you have any further information about this object please contact us: worksofart@soane.org.uk