Artwork

Memorial Panel with Nine Female Portraits, inner right wing of an altarpiece

Memorial Panel with Nine Female Portraits, inner right wing of an altarpiece is an oil painting by Master of Alkmaar. It is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Created in 1517, this oil panel forms the inner right wing of a larger altarpiece and now resides in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1517, this oil panel forms the inner right wing of a larger altarpiece and now resides in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. It presents a row of nine women, each facing the viewer, set against a modest landscape of trees and hills. The central figure holds a small chest and wears a red dress, while a table draped in red cloth and a book appear on the right side of the composition.

Subject & Meaning

The work functions as a memorial portrait, likely commemorating a group of women connected by familial or communal ties. Their solemn expressions and uniform headscarves suggest a shared status or purpose, perhaps related to piety or remembrance, while the inclusion of a chest and a book may allude to personal virtues or the recording of their memory.

Technique & Style

Executed in oil on panel, the painting displays vivid coloration and a stylized treatment of the figures, with exaggerated facial features that verge on caricature. This approach reflects the influence of the early Netherlandish painter Geertgen tot Sint Jans, whose emphasis on bright hues and expressive detail is evident in the work’s handling of light and texture.

History & Provenance

Attributed to the anonymous Master of Alkmaar, an artist active in the Alkmaar region at the dawn of the sixteenth century, the panel was originally part of a larger devotional altarpiece. Over the centuries it entered various collections before being acquired by the Rijksmuseum, where it remains a representative example of early Netherlandish portraiture.

Context

The panel belongs to a period when portraiture began to serve commemorative functions within religious settings, integrating personal remembrance with liturgical art. Its placement within an altarpiece underscores the intertwining of private devotion and public worship characteristic of early sixteenth‑century Dutch ecclesiastical art.