Who painted The Last Judgement and the burial of the dead?

The Last Judgement and the burial of the dead was painted by Bernard Van Orley in 1565-01-01.

Where can I see The Last Judgement and the burial of the dead?

The Last Judgement and the burial of the dead is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is The Last Judgement and the burial of the dead?

The Last Judgement and the burial of the dead is associated with Mannerism.

Can I buy a print of The Last Judgement and the burial of the dead?

Museum-quality prints of The Last Judgement and the burial of the dead are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

The Last Judgement and the burial of the dead by Bernard Van Orley (1565)

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting portrays the Day of Judgment alongside a funeral scene, merging the final divine assessment of souls with the earthly ritual of burial.

The painting portrays the Day of Judgment alongside a funeral scene, merging the final divine assessment of souls with the earthly ritual of burial. Its iconography combines the heavenly tribunal with mournful figures and coffins, symbolising the transition from earthly death to eternal judgment. The work conveys a theological message about accountability and the hope of salvation, reflecting Counter-Reformation emphases on divine justice and the afterlife.

Technique & Style

The work is executed in oil paint on panel, a technique consistent with Bernard van Orley's Netherlandish practice. The large-scale support measures 218 cm in height by 190 cm in width, providing an expansive field for the densely composed religious imagery. The panel format and oil medium allow for the layered handling and detailed figural work associated with mid-sixteenth-century Brussels painting.

Stylistically, the composition addresses the Day of Judgment and a burial scene, integrating eschatological and funerary subjects within a single devotional field. The classification as a religious painting underscores its function within the tradition of large altarpiece-scale panels produced for sacred settings.

History & Provenance

The Last Judgement and the burial of the dead was created by Bernard van Orley in 1565, executed in oil paint on panel. The work entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where it remains held and displayed.

No further details regarding an original commission, prior ownership, or intermediate provenance steps are documented in the available sources.

The painting is held by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where it forms part of the museum's collection. According to the Wikidata record, the work is catalogued under the institution's holdings and located at the Rijksmuseum, with a measured height of 218 cm and width of 190 cm.

No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented beyond its presence within the Rijksmuseum's collection.

Overview

Created in 1565 by the Flemish painter Bernard van Orley, this oil on canvas presents a dual narrative of the Christian Last Judgement and a contemporary burial. The composition occupies a vertical format, with the celestial scene of Christ’s judgment positioned above a terrestrial tableau of mourners and the dead. The work belongs to the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies the artist’s engagement with religious themes during the Northern Renaissance.

Context

Bernard van Orley was a leading figure of the Romanist circle, a group of Northern artists who incorporated Italian compositional principles into local traditions. In the mid‑16th century, the subject of the Last Judgement resonated with contemporary concerns about salvation and mortality, especially amid the religious upheavals of the Reformation. The inclusion of a burial scene grounds the apocalyptic vision in everyday practice, reflecting the period’s intertwining of the sacred and the quotidian.

Artist & collection

Artist

Bernard Van Orley

Bernard van Orley (between 1487 and 1491 – 6 January 1541), also called Barend or Barent van Orley, Bernaert van Orley or Barend van Brussel, was a versatile Flemish artist and representative of Dutch and Flemish…