The five present medallions depict the Five sorrowful Mysteries, and all come from a lost painting of Our Lady of the Rosary painted in Brussels c. 1500, perhaps for a convent of the Dominicans in Brussels. The painting was dismembered before 1928, when all the fragments were sold at auctions. The discovery of a photograph, dating from the early 1900s and showing the painting in its original form, allows us to establish new hypotheses on the history of the painting, and to attribute the artwork to the Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece, an associate of Colijn de Coter active in his workshop in Brussels around 1490-1520.

The name “Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece” appears first in 1922 (more exactly, the artist was named the “Maître Bruxellois du Retable d’Orsoy”). This artist takes his name from the double-winged altarpiece in Sankt Nikolauskirche in Orsoy, Germany, that Max J. Friedländer had attributed, in 1908, to an anonymous master working closely with Colijn de Coter (who is responsible for the outer wings of the same altarpiece), a very important painter from Brussels working in the tradition of Rogier van der Weyden whose name is known thanks to three signed paintings (Saint Luke painting the Virgin: Paris, church of Vieure; altarpiece of the Trinity: Paris, Musée du Louvre; and the Virgin Crowned by Angels: Düsseldorf, private collection). Max J. Friedländer also attributed to the Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece the Nativity with a donor and the Circumcision in Brussels and one panel, depicting the Meeting of Saint Romuald and Saint Gummarus, in the large altarpiece of the Life of Saint Romuald in Mechelen Cathedral. In 1924, Friedrich Winkler attributed the wings of the Praust Passion Altarpiece (Warsaw, Museum Narodowe) to the Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece.

In the 20th century, some art historians did not really agree with the need to define one personality that seems to be so closely related to Colijn de Coter and the attributions of the artworks to the Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece were debated. For some authors, it was more accurate to consider the whole altarpieces as “studio of Colijn de Coter”, since the anonymous master was undoubtedly an “assistant” or “pupil” of Colijn de Coter. This notion of workshop is central in Catheline Périer-D’Ieteren’s monograph publication on Colyn de Coter (1985). She mentioned the Orsoy Altarpiece, the Nativity (Brussels) as well as the paintings from the altarpiece of the Life of Saint Romuald (Mechelen) but does not develop the question of the attributions. She agrees that these altarpieces were painted in collaboration with one or more artists but does not mention the Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece, even though this name was used as early as 1922. The stylistic analysis of the works of the Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece shows indeed great proximity with Colijn de Coter; they both share the same vocabulary, mainly taken from the greatest artists of the previous generation, such as Rogier van der Weyden and Robert Campin. The way the two painters render the texture effects, with heightened plastic effects, is also very similar. However, the main difference resides in the overall aesthetic of the paintings. Colijn de Coter has a very sculptural brushstroke, with an emphasis on heavy draperies and strong treatments of lights and shadows. The Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece shows a more monumental aesthetic, with particular attention paid to a solid arrangement of the elements within the composition (and especially of the figures, which seem rooted in the composition). The colors used in the paintings by the Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece are brighter and closer to works by the Master of Affligem.

The five present medallions, and the painting they originate from, show great similarity with the characteristics mentioned above. It is, however, strange that Max J. Friedländer, who himself isolated the first corpus d’œuvres of the Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece, attributed these medallions to Colijn de Coter. Perhaps he meant Colijn de Coter as “workshop of Colijn de Coter”? Perhaps he says the pictures of the painting, but not the painting itself? It is, however, enlightening to note that Max J. Friedländer did not include the medallions in his chapter on Colijn de Coter in his Early Netherlandish publication. Moreover, Jeanne Maquet-Tombu’s paragraph on the medallions and the other fragments from the lost painting is instructive: while the art historian attributes these fragments to Colijn de Coter and a pupil, she links these paintings to the Orsoy Altarpiece: “[…] Le Pape et le cardinal ont les traits des grandes figures d’Orsoy […] le petit format des tondi a occasionné, comme dans le bas des volets d’Orsoy, un tassement des personnages […]”. It indeed seems that the most relevant comparisons can be found with the inner wings of the Orsoy Altarpiece, which shows the same monumental treatment of the figures, similar morphological details, and analogous details in the layout of the composition.

The Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece is an important Brussels artist with his own artistic personality. He was undoubtedly trained with Colijn de Coter and was greatly influenced by him: his formulas and vocabulary are strongly indebted to the art of Colijn de Coter, but his style shows differences. The attribution of the five present medallions to the Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece is an important new addition to the corpus of the anonymous master and helps us to define more precisely the workshop of Colijn de Coter as well as the individual artistic personality of the Master of the Orsoy Altarpiece. The original destination of the now lost painting of Our Lady of the Rosary from which the five medallions originate remains a question. The presence of Three Dominicans on the bottom right of the painting may indicate that it was commissioned by a Dominican convent, perhaps in Brussels. However, the Three Dominicans may as well be depicted on the painting as the Dominicans are the principal and most ardent propagators of devotion to the Rosary throughout Europe. During the early 16th century, depictions of Our Lady of the Rosary became more popular, also in illuminated manuscripts. Interestingly, the composition of the lost painting is very close to a Book of Hours realized in Bruges c. 1500-1510 (Sotheby’s, November 17, 1999, lot 3). Only the figures on the lower part of the panel painting are missing in the illumination, which seem to indicate that the Dominicans on the panel painting were painted not as general propagators of the devotion of the Rosary, but most probably as commissioners of the painting from which the five medallions originate.

We thank Dr. Till-Holger Borchert, Prof. Frédéric Elsig, and Prof. Didier Martens for their expertise.