A Masterly Hand / Scientia Artis 9

Fig. 5.34 Holy Woman Seated near the Calvary, Geistingen, St Anne’s Chapel These are just a few examples drawn from an already large group that origi- nally must have included even more works. They illustrate the stylistic diver- sity in the Elsloo group, even though the sculptures clearly have a common denominator. Moreover, they occur within a specific region in the vicinity of the Meuse a nd most of them seem to have been produced within a relatively limited peri od. 26 Th ey also display a more or less consistent good quality. The sheer number of sculptures and the variations among them seem to indi- cate the activity of different sculptors and/or workshops, which would mean that in that region different sculptors and/or workshops were active and ­ supplied stylistically related work of more or less equally good quality without pushing each other out of the mark et. 27 W here were these workshops ­ established? The possibility of Roermond has already been examin ed. 28 Th e presence of several sculptures in and around Bree and Maaseik might suggest artistic activity in those places t oo. 29 M ore research is called for. Various factors could have contributed to the popularity and regional dis- tribution of the Elsloo style, which seems as though it must have been some- thing of a fashion. The Meuse, one of the most important trading routes, flows straight through the regi on. 30 An d influential clients such as Thorn Abbey and the Siersdorf commandry of the Teutonic Order could have played a part too. Taking all these elements into account, the name ‘Master of Elsloo’, with its suggestion of referring to a single sculptor or workshop, causes confusion and might need revision. For it is rather an umbrella term for several sculp- tors and/or workshops that produced stylistically related work. However, it remains difficult to distinguish clearly defined sub-groups (hands or work- shops). In the light of all these findings, the use of the more general ‘Elsloo group’ as a collective name for this group of sculptors and sculptures seems more appropri ate. 31 Notes 1 T his sculpture comes from the Leenders c hapel in Opoeteren in the Belgian province of Limburg. See Sint-Truiden 1990: inv. no. 375; Madrid – Ghent – Santa Cruz de la Palma 2005: 75. 2 For an example from the circle of Jan van Steffeswert, see Te Poel 2000b: 73-76. 3 See also Didier 1992: 132-148. 4 Horst 1974: 9-23. 5 For a hypothesis about stylistic evolution in the Elsloo oeuvre, see Michel Lefftz, article 6 in this volume. 6 H orst 1974: 15. See also Peter te Poel, article 1 in this volume. 7 T his was carried out by Pascale Fraiture, s ee article 8 in this volume. 8 S ee KIK-IRPA photograph s X046451 an d X039955. 9 Horst 1974: 15. 10 In the nave side Virgin of Neeroeteren, the presence of dimples in the cheeks is unclear. 11 See also KIK-IRPA p hotographs X032209 (Philip) an d X032076 ( Christopher). St Sebastian’s ears are only partially visible, however, and therefore more difficult to compare. 12 Cf. the eyes of the figures of the Neeroeteren Marianum and the Siersdorf Virgin and Child. 13 See KIK-IRPA photograph s X032098 a nd X040285. 14 See KIK-IR PA photogra ph s X032087, X032329 an d X040284. 15 See KIK-IRPA photograp h X044748. The hair at the back of the Gerdingen Virgin and Child and indeed the whole of the back plank may be of l ater date. 16 D ürer (ed. 2003): 78-79. This is an English edition of the Latin translation 5.34