Getty Museum
The Christ Child Surrounded by the Instruments of the Passion
Creator
Simon BeningFlemish Illuminator · 1483–1561
All works by this person →One of the most celebrated painters of Flanders in the 1500s, Simon Bening was hailed by Portuguese art critic Francisco da Hollanda as the greatest master of illumination in all of Europe. In addition to producing books for powerful aristocrats such as Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, Bening worked for a group of international royal patrons including Emperor Charles V and Don Fernando, the Infan
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1525–1530
- Medium
- Tempera colors, gold paint, and gold leaf
- Culture
- Flemish
- Department
- Manuscripts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
In a green meadow dotted with dainty flowers and backed by an ethereal golden sky--not a real space but a spiritual realm--the Christ child sits on a pillow like a precious object, surrounded by seven angels. One angel gestures toward the baby and looks down at a spear, referring to the piercing of Christ's side at the Crucifixion, an event yet to happen. Others hold the nails driven into Christ's hands and feet, his crown of thorns, the cross itself, and a sign that had been attached to the cross with the initials for the Latin words *Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.* Simon Bening placed this devotional image, which projects forward in time to the inevitability of Christ's sacrificial death, in the midst of a series of narrative scenes from his infancy.
The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
Get printable QR codesHide QR codes
Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.
Related across collections
Semantically similar works from Getty Museum and other institutions.