A Masterly Hand / Scientia Artis 9

lower lids. The eyebrows are curved, the noses long and slender with incised nostrils. The mouths are small and pinched with a slightly projecting under lip; the cheeks are dimpl ed, 10 as is the protruding chin. The faces of the Christ Child are also remarkable similar (figs. 5.20-5.21). Each is ringed with curls; each has a high wide forehead, a broad and slightly turned-up nose, dimples in the cheeks, a mouth with indented corners and a pronounced dimpled chin. The shape of the eyes and the fine lines in the eyelids are the same; the position of the head and the deep crease in the neck are likewise very similar. But here too there are differences. Compared to the Neeroeteren figures of the Virgin with their slightly inclined heads, the straight-headed Siersdorf Madonna looks rather static as well as more robust. The naked Christ Child from Neeroeteren is also more elongated and slender than the rather chubby Siersdorf infant. The drapery of these Virgins also has a different character. In the Neeroeteren figures it is made up of a complex accumulation of Y-shaped folds. The Siersdorf Virgin’s mantle, on the other hand, falls into a few heavy, bulky U- and V-shaped folds. Although the general conception of the coiffure and the way the long locks fall at the front is very similar, the rolls of hair on either side of the faces of the Marianum Virgins are less regular in shape and have a more upwards curl than those of the Siersdorf Madonna. Another work can be associated with the Siersdorf Virgin and Child and also the St Elizabeth from the same church (fig. 12.1b) , that being the St Anne with the Virgin and Child now in the Provinciaal Museum Begijnhofkerk in Sint-Truiden (fig. 5.19). The faces and hair show strong similarities, but the figures have been executed in a rather different spirit. The Sint-Truiden figures are more stocky and the faces appear doll-like with a wider nose and mouth. How these works are related still remains to be seen. A few figures of the Neeroeteren group have idiosyncratically carved ears. Ears have a complex shape and their realistic execution requires a highly skilled and creative hand. The way of carving could be a direct link to a sculptor or a 5.18 5.17 5.19 Fig. 5.17 Neeroeteren Marianum, detail Fig. 5.18 Siersdorf Virgin and Child, detail Fig. 5.19 St Anne with the Virgin and Child, Sint-Truiden, Provinciaal Museum Begijnhofkerk