Artwork

Four canons with Sts Augustine and Jerome by an open grave, with the Visitation

Four canons with Sts Augustine and Jerome by an open grave, with the Visitation is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Master of the Spes Nostra. It dates from 1500 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting depicts a religious scene centered on the Visitation, an event from the New Testament where the Virgin Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth.

The painting depicts a religious scene centered on the Visitation, an event from the New Testament where the Virgin Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth. This biblical narrative serves as the main subject of the work, which is classified within the genre of religious art. The composition also includes four canons alongside the saints Augustine and Jerome, positioned near an open grave.

This specific grouping of figures suggests a commemorative or devotional function, linking the holy visitation with the presence of ecclesiastical figures and the imagery of mortality.

Technique & Style

Created in 1500, this religious painting is executed in oil paint on a panel support. The work measures 88.7 cm in height and 104.3 cm in width. As a product of the Master of the Spes Nostra, the piece adheres to the stylistic conventions of early 16th-century Northern Renaissance religious art.

The medium and support combination was typical for panel paintings of this period, allowing for detailed rendering of the depicted scene which includes the Visitation alongside four canons and saints Augustine and Jerome by an open grave.

History & Provenance

The painting was created in 1500 by the Master of the Spes Nostra for an unknown patron, likely commissioned for devotional use in a private chapel.

After its creation, the work entered the collection of Franz Kleinberger, who later sold it to the Rijksmuseum, where it remains today.

The composition depicts the Visitation alongside the Four Canons with Saints Augustine and Jerome positioned near an open grave, forming a unified devotional image.

The artwork is executed in oil on panel, measuring 88.7 cm in height and 104.3 cm in width.

The painting Four canons with Sts Augustine and Jerome by an open grave, with the Visitation is held in the Rijksmuseum collection in Amsterdam. It bears the inventory number SK-A-1732 and was acquired from Franz Kleinberger. The work was exhibited at the Rijksmuseum in 1906.

Context

The work is situated within the early 16th-century Netherlandish school, specifically attributed to the anonymous Master of the Spes Nostra who was active in Antwerp around the turn of the century. His documented involvement with devotional panels for private chapels provides crucial context for understanding this complex composition that merges canonical figures with narrative scenes like the Visitation. The painting's presence in the Franz Kleinberger collection before its acquisition by the Rijksmuseum underscores its significance within early collections of Northern Renaissance art, a category that emerged from 19th-century connoisseurship focused on identifying workshop practices and regional stylistic clusters.

Overview

Created around 1500, this oil on canvas by the anonymous Master of the Spes Nostra presents a complex religious scene now in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The composition gathers a group of robed figures around an open grave, while two women in vivid blue and red garments converse nearby. A distant courtyard with architectural elements and a mother‑child pair completes the setting, lending depth to the narrative.