Legende van de Heilige Lucia (‘The Legend of Saint Lucia’)

Central Panel (from a dismantled triptych) depicting the legend of Saint Lucia. Three scenes are separated by slender columns with a coat of arms at the base. To the left: a divided shield, on the right side azure a silver dove accompanied by three silver petals with a bud or, arranged 2 and 1, on the left side sable three bars or, the chief or a lion gules. To the right: a divided shield, on the right side azure a silver dove accompanied by three silver petals with a bud or, arranged 2 and 1, on the left side azure a chevron sable accompanied by three buckets of gold. The scene on the left shows Lucia with her miraculously healed mother distributing alms to the poor. In the centre, the Christian Lucia is brought before the pagan Paschasius who commands her to make a sacrifice to the emperor, which Lucia refuses. Therefore, on the right, she is taken to a brothel, but miraculously this cannot be accomplished; even the oxen, through the intervention of the Holy Spirit, cannot pull her forward. Above the executioner’s head, the Bruges towers of the Belfry and the Church of Our Lady are recognisable. In the central scene, the same coats of arms as mentioned at the pillars are displayed in the windows. On the edge of the canopy is written: ‘THIS WAS DONE IN THE YEAR 1480’. The panel is set in a black painted frame with a gilded edge. The story of Saint Lucia, a Christian woman condemned to prostitution who suddenly became so heavy that not even a thousand oxen could move her, takes place in Syracuse. Here, on the right scene, we recognise 15th century Bruges. This important painting is the only dated work by this anonymous master from whom it derives its nickname. It also appears to be his earliest known work and bears the typical characteristics of his entire oeuvre: a predilection for architectural elements, the almost scientific attention to flowers, the slender women with their oval faces with light, slit eyes beneath domed eyelids, the stiffly depicted wavy hair, the broad and clichéd faces of the male figures with their large closed eyes and fleshy mouths, the harsh colour palette. Based on these characteristics, other works can be attributed to him. The painting connects this master with important Flemish painters like Dirk Bouts, in whose environment he may have been trained.