Artwork
Calvary with a Carthusian Monk
Calvary with a Carthusian Monk is a tempera painting by the Gothic painting artist Jean de Beaumetz. It dates from 1396 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
A Carthusian monk kneels in prayer at the foot of the cross, his white habit stark against the punched gold ground of a panel made for the Chartreuse de Champmol near Dijon in 1396. Jean de Beaumetz painted it among twenty-six devotional images for monks' cells; only this Cleveland panel and one in the Louvre survive. The Virgin faints in the arms of the two Marys while Saint John bows his head.
Subject & Meaning
These symbols juxtapose Christ's redemptive sacrifice with the Fall of Man, reinforcing themes of salvation and contemplative piety.
The painting depicts the Crucifixion of Christ on Calvary, a central Passion subject. A Carthusian monk is included, indicating the work functioned as a devotional image for that order. John the Evangelist stands at the foot of the cross, a standard iconographic figure.
The composition also features two trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. These symbols juxtapose Christ's redemptive sacrifice with the Fall of Man, reinforcing themes of salvation and contemplative piety.
Technique & Style
Executed in tempera on a wooden panel, this painting uses the characteristic support and medium of late-14th-century French devotional works. The panel measures 56 by 45.6 cm. Stylistically, the composition centers on the Crucifixion, presenting a Carthusian monk as a witness or donor alongside symbolic elements such as the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which enrich its theological narrative. The tempera handling yields precise, linear forms typical of the Gothic period, though detailed descriptions of brushwork are not provided. No information about the painting's condition is available from the sources.
Overview
This tempera painting, "Calvary with a Carthusian Monk," was created by Jean de Beaumetz, court painter to Philip the Bold of Burgundy. Part of a larger commission for the Chartreuse de Champmol, it served as a private devotional image for a monk's cell. The work depicts Christ's crucifixion, with a contemporary Carthusian monk kneeling at the cross, a significant departure from traditional iconography. Its refined details and emotional depth are characteristic of the International Gothic style.
History & Provenance
This panel was part of a series of twenty-six devotional paintings commissioned by Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, for the Chartreuse de Champmol. This monastery, founded by Philip and Margaret of Bavaria near Dijon, served as a burial site for the ducal family. Created between 1389 and 1395 by Jean de Beaumetz and his workshop, only two of these original panels are known to survive today. The Cleveland Museum of Art acquired this example in 1964 through the Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jean de Beaumetz is recorded to have been "painter and valet" to Philip the Bold, for whom he painted numerous works, and decorated, among other chapels, that of the Castle of Argilli, in Burgundy.
