Workshop of Dieric Bouts (Netherlandish, 1415–1475)
Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowing Virgin)
INV-1106
Workshop of Dieric Bouts (Netherlandish, 1415–1475)c. 1490
Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowing Virgin)
Workshop of Dieric Bouts (Netherlandish, 1415–1475) →15th centurynorthern renaissanceoil on paneloil paintings (visual works)
Date
c. 1490
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
38.7 × 30.3 cm (15 1/4 × 11 7/8 in.); Framed: 43.2 × 34 × 4.8 cm (17 × 13 3/8 × 1 7/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Chester D. Tripp Fund; Chester D. Tripp Endowment; through prior acquisition of Max and Leola Epstein
This grieving Madonna likely originally faced another panel depicting a similarly sorrowful Christ crowned with thorns. Portable devotional diptychs such as these were extremely popular in Northern Europe, and workshops like that of artist Dieric Bouts had a system for meeting this demand. A master artist’s design book, a closely guarded tool of the workshop, contained drawings that could be transferred by assistants directly onto the surface of a panel. The assistants could use the same drawing multiple times, as they did for this panel and others of the same subject, allowing for efficient production while maintaining the quality of the master’s design.
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