DOI article:
Demchuk, Stefaniia: Two Suppers: Illustrations by Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen to Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi (1523) and the eucharistic controversy of the early Reformation
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.44918#0045
fire. Suddenly, she saw an intact Host amidst the burning flames. She reached out
feeling no pain from the blazing fire, and retrieved the Host that was rather cold.
The Host was preserved and given back to a priest, who attested the miracle. As
soon as in 1360, the house of the ill man was converted to a chapel, becoming a busy
centre of pilgrimage that started to wane only in the sixteenth century.
Thus, all contributors to the publishing of “Passio Domini” share a certain com-
mitment to the Holy Eucharist that influenced both the iconography of the engraving
and the accompanying narrative that will be examined in the following paragraphs.
So two engravings, the Passover and the Last Supper, form a kind of a diptych
within the Passion series. They portray the first and the second part of the Christ s
meal with his disciples and at the same time remind us about both the introduction
of the Passover for Jews and the Eucharist for Christians. Such combination cannot
be found in any other Passover portrayals that strived to avoid loose interpreta-
tions of the biblical narrative. It was also odd to see Christ and his disciples replace
the Jews in the Passover. The same technique is present only in the works by the
anonymous Antwerp master. The nonconventional iconography emphasizes the
underlying message that the book intended to covey. The accompanying narrative
succeeds in exposing this message.
II
What does the accompanying narrative look like, and how did it complement or
reveal the message of the engraving?
The text of “Passio Domini” is rather motley. The editor, Alardus of Amsterdam,
confessed that he had included poems by 18 Christian authors and his own, along
with Prudentius, Petrarch, and Angelo Poliziano, Murmellius being the most fa-
mous among them31. The captions to the Passover and the Last Supper engravings
are attributed to Alardus himself, sińce it is stated in the prefaces of these chapters.
Unsurprisingly, they were inspired mainly by Chapter 12 of the Book of Exodus.
There are some borrowings from previous chapters depicting the Plagues of Egypt.
They come from the Old Testament. However, the structure of these articles is
unusual and sometimes deviates from the narrative in the Book of Exodus. Alardus
begins with the Gods word ordaining the Passover. Particular emphasis is placed
on its regularity: the humanist even added the words “...and shall be celebrated
without any changes”.32 Having specified the rules of selecting the right day and
having emphasized the eternal validity of this prescription he describes the lamb
to be sacrificed and how it should be prepared.
Then comes a description of how doors should be marked with the lambs blood
so that the Angel of the Lord could avoid them while killing all firstborns on his
way through Egypt.33 In the finał paragraphs, he expatiates upon deeds committed
by the Pharaoh that brought suffering to the people of Egypt.
Thus, there are 2 points emphasized by the humanist: firstly, the Passover being
a sacrifice to God shall be celebrated on a regular basis and, secondly, that ignorance
31 C. Molier, Jacob Cornelisz, p. 166.
32 “Ecce nuovo veteris hoc celebrabitis ordine Pascha / Septima ite peragenda dies non dispare
ritu / Semper est, semperąue pari renovanda paratu [...]” Cit. from A. Amstelredamus, J.C. van
Oostsanen, D. Pietersz, Ritvs Edendi Paschalis Agni.
33 “Fascibus hissopi tinctis in sanguine, passim / Postibus asperso laąuearia sanguine manent”.
Cit. from A. Amstelredamus, J.C. van Oostsanen, D. Pietersz, Ritvs Edendi Paschalis Agni.
Two Suppers: Illustrations by Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen to Passio DominiNostri...
43
feeling no pain from the blazing fire, and retrieved the Host that was rather cold.
The Host was preserved and given back to a priest, who attested the miracle. As
soon as in 1360, the house of the ill man was converted to a chapel, becoming a busy
centre of pilgrimage that started to wane only in the sixteenth century.
Thus, all contributors to the publishing of “Passio Domini” share a certain com-
mitment to the Holy Eucharist that influenced both the iconography of the engraving
and the accompanying narrative that will be examined in the following paragraphs.
So two engravings, the Passover and the Last Supper, form a kind of a diptych
within the Passion series. They portray the first and the second part of the Christ s
meal with his disciples and at the same time remind us about both the introduction
of the Passover for Jews and the Eucharist for Christians. Such combination cannot
be found in any other Passover portrayals that strived to avoid loose interpreta-
tions of the biblical narrative. It was also odd to see Christ and his disciples replace
the Jews in the Passover. The same technique is present only in the works by the
anonymous Antwerp master. The nonconventional iconography emphasizes the
underlying message that the book intended to covey. The accompanying narrative
succeeds in exposing this message.
II
What does the accompanying narrative look like, and how did it complement or
reveal the message of the engraving?
The text of “Passio Domini” is rather motley. The editor, Alardus of Amsterdam,
confessed that he had included poems by 18 Christian authors and his own, along
with Prudentius, Petrarch, and Angelo Poliziano, Murmellius being the most fa-
mous among them31. The captions to the Passover and the Last Supper engravings
are attributed to Alardus himself, sińce it is stated in the prefaces of these chapters.
Unsurprisingly, they were inspired mainly by Chapter 12 of the Book of Exodus.
There are some borrowings from previous chapters depicting the Plagues of Egypt.
They come from the Old Testament. However, the structure of these articles is
unusual and sometimes deviates from the narrative in the Book of Exodus. Alardus
begins with the Gods word ordaining the Passover. Particular emphasis is placed
on its regularity: the humanist even added the words “...and shall be celebrated
without any changes”.32 Having specified the rules of selecting the right day and
having emphasized the eternal validity of this prescription he describes the lamb
to be sacrificed and how it should be prepared.
Then comes a description of how doors should be marked with the lambs blood
so that the Angel of the Lord could avoid them while killing all firstborns on his
way through Egypt.33 In the finał paragraphs, he expatiates upon deeds committed
by the Pharaoh that brought suffering to the people of Egypt.
Thus, there are 2 points emphasized by the humanist: firstly, the Passover being
a sacrifice to God shall be celebrated on a regular basis and, secondly, that ignorance
31 C. Molier, Jacob Cornelisz, p. 166.
32 “Ecce nuovo veteris hoc celebrabitis ordine Pascha / Septima ite peragenda dies non dispare
ritu / Semper est, semperąue pari renovanda paratu [...]” Cit. from A. Amstelredamus, J.C. van
Oostsanen, D. Pietersz, Ritvs Edendi Paschalis Agni.
33 “Fascibus hissopi tinctis in sanguine, passim / Postibus asperso laąuearia sanguine manent”.
Cit. from A. Amstelredamus, J.C. van Oostsanen, D. Pietersz, Ritvs Edendi Paschalis Agni.
Two Suppers: Illustrations by Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen to Passio DominiNostri...
43