Harvard Art Museums > 1997.2: The Last Judgment Paintings Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"The Last Judgment (Jan Provoost) , 1997.2,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Nov 24, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/226437. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text Provoost’s painting depicts Judgment Day, with Christ looming over the earth, his feet resting on an iridescent orb. Dark gray clouds overlap the gilded sky. The sword and the lily that flank Christ’s head, and his powerful gaze directed outward at the viewer, signify his imminent division of the blessed from the damned. Flying between heaven and earth, four angels sound long curved trumpets to the souls below, who await judgment. The apocalyptic landscape is eerily barren, devoid of any vegetation or architecture and populated only by figures scantily draped in white cloths. Each seems to occupy a discrete psychic space; some pray, while others, set along the horizon beneath the pale sky, seem unaware of the cosmic event above. Although the subject of this painting suggests that it could have hung in a religious institution, images of the Last Judgment were also frequently displayed in city halls and courthouses, as a means of validating secular institutions’ claims to divine authority. Identification and Creation Object Number 1997.2 People Jan Provoost, Netherlandish (c. 1465 - 1529) Title The Last Judgment Classification Paintings Work Type painting Date c. 1505 Places Creation Place: Europe, Netherlands Culture Netherlandish Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/226437 Location Location Level 2, Room 2500, European Art, 13th–16th century, Art and Image in Europe View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Oil and gold on oak panel, in original frame Dimensions 108.5 x 92 cm (42 11/16 x 36 1/4 in.) frame: 127.5 x 114 x 5.4 cm (50 3/16 x 44 7/8 x 2 1/8 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Possibly from the former Predikheren (Dominican) Church at Bruges, which was destroyed during the Thirty Years War. Mr. van Speybrouck, Bruges. Viscount Léon Ruffo Bonneval de la Fare, Brussels, [his sale in Bruges, June 26 1893, lot 143, unsold], [his sale in Brussels, May 23 1900, lot 6, as Memlinc, withdrawn by the owner], by inheritance; to De Winter family. Sold, to Baron Maleingreau d'Hembise, 1960. [Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., 1982, unsold]. [Christie's, New York, 1994], sold; to Vermeer Associates Limited, sold; to Harvard Art Museum, 1997. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Anonymous Gift and the Kate, Maurice R. and Melvin R. Seiden Special Purchase Fund in honor of Philip A. and Lynn Straus Accession Year 1997 Object Number 1997.2 Division European and American Art Contact am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Publication History Tableaux anciens des écoles flamande, allemande, & Italienne principalement des XVe, XVIe etXVIIe siècles, auct. cat. (Bruges, Belgium, June 26, 1893), lot 143 Tableaux anciens, auct. cat., Galerie Fiévez (Brussels, Belgium, May 23, 1900), no. 6 George Hulin de Loo, "Geschiedenis der Kunst in de Nederlanden (Belgie en Holland) . . .", Kunst en Leven (1902), vol. I, p. 19, no. 7 George Hulin de Loo, Exposition de tableaux flamands des XIVe, XVe, XVIe siecles, exh. cat., A. Siffer (Ghent, Belgium, 1902), no. 7 Exposition des Primitifs flamands et d'Art ancien, exh. cat., P. Weissenbruch (Brussels, Belgium, 1902), pp. 71-2, no. 169 J.M.W.H. Weale, "Early Painters of the Netherlands as illustrated by Bruges exhibition of 1902", The Burlington Magazine (1903), vol. II, p. 332 Max J. Friedlander, von Eyck bis Brueghel, Studien zur Geschichte der niederlandische Malerei, Julius Bard (Berlin, Germany, 1916), p. 120 Max J. Friedlander, Die altniederlandische Malerei, Paul Cassirer Gallery (Berlin, Germany, 1924 - 1937), vol. IX, p. 78, no. 159 R.A. Parmentier, [Unidentified article], Revue Belge d'Archeologie et d'Histoire de l'Art (1944), vol. XIV, pp. 14-16 Charles-Quint et son temps, exh. cat., Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand (Ghent, Belgium, 1955), p. 129, no. 107 Max J. Friedlander, Lucas van Leyden and other Dutch masters of his time, A.W. Sijthoff (Leyden, 1973), pp. 87, 114, no 159 N. Reynauld, "Une Allegorie Sacree de Jan Provost", Revue du Louvre et des musées de France (1975), vol. 25, pp. 7-16 Important Old Master Paintings, auct. cat., Sotheby's (London, England, June 23, 1982), no. 32, repr. Important and Fine Old Master Paintings, auct. cat., Christie's, New York (New York, NY, January 12, 1994), cat. no. 77, pp. 112-113, repr. in color p. 113 Ron Spronk, "An Early Sixteenth Century 'Last Judgment' by Jan Provoost", Le Dessin sous-jacent et la Technologie dans la Peinture, Colloque XI, Sept 1995, ed. Roger van Schout, College Erasme (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, 1997) Ron Spronk, "Tracing the Making of Jan Provoost's 'Last Judgement' through Technical Examinations and Digital Imaging", Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Institute of Arts Founders Society (Detroit, MI, 1998), vol. 72, no. 1/2, repr. in b/w fig. 2, p. 68 James Cuno, ed., A Decade of Collecting: Recent Acquisitions by the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, Mass., Spring 2000), pp. 42-43, repr. p. 42 Peter Klein, "Dendrochronological Analyses of Netherlandish Paintings", Recent Developments in the Technical Examination of Early Netherlandish Painting, ed. Molly Faries, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge MA, 2003), pp. 65-81, p. 80, in table 5 Stephan Wolohojian and Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Harvard Art Museum/ Handbook, ed. Stephan Wolohojian, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, 2008), p. 68, repr. Exhibition History Investigating the Renaissance, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/01/1996 - 05/01/2009 32Q: 2500 Renaissance, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050 Subjects and Contexts Google Art Project Related Articles Training at the Harvard Art Museums: Ron Spronk January 7, 2014 Related Works Straus.8251 Artist of original: Jan Provoost X-radiograph(s) of "Last Judgment" Photographs Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu