A Masterly Hand / Scientia Artis 9

259 Vincent Cattersel 13 258 Summary – The Crucified Christ from the Calvary in the Church of St Harlindis and St Relindis in Ellikom: a Special Case The statue of the Crucified Christ in the Church of St Harlindis and St Relindis in the village of Ellikom in Belgian Limburg is part of a Calvary group which may have been preserved in its original location. Stylistically it fits into a group of about ten statues of the Crucified Christ which are ­ associated with the so-called Master of Elsloo and which are in churches in the city of Liège, the Belgian and Dutch provinces of Limburg and the neighbouring region in Germany. The figure is made of oak and is composed of three parts: the body and two arms. It has been hollowed at the back. The carving has been skilfully and painstakingly executed, with special attention given to anatomical detail. Most remarkable is the preservation, beneath two to four layers of ­ overpaint, of a great part of the original polychromy, which is, moreover, in an exceptionally good condition. In its original polychromed state the figure of Christ had blood flowing freely from his wounds over his pale pink skin. The loincloth, now painted white, was completely gilded. No doubt the statue was created by a gifted artist capable of merging realism and pathos into a striking image. This high - quality statue is an ­ important example of the late - Gothic artistic heritage of the territory described today as the ­Meuse - Rhine Euregion, which has long formed a cohesive ­cultural area.