Claus Sluter
Pioneer of northern realism and court sculptor to Philip the Bold
Claus Sluter was a Dutch sculptor born in Haarlem in the 1340s who died in Dijon around 1405 or 1406. From about 1380, he lived and worked in the Duchy of Burgundy. He is regarded as the leading northern European sculptor of his time and a forerunner of the "northern realism" that would later define Early Netherlandish painting, especially in the work of Jan van Eyck and his contemporaries.
Around 1379 or 1380, the name "Claes de Slutere van Herlam" appears in the Brussels Register of the Corporation of Stonemasons and Sculptors. Sluter then moved to Dijon, the Burgundian capital. From 1385 to 1389, he served as assistant to Jean de Marville, court sculptor to Duke Philip the Bold. After Marville's death, Sluter became court sculptor himself, holding the rank of valet de chambre until his own death. His nephew, Claus de Werve, succeeded him.
Sluter’s most famous work is the Well of Moses, also called the Great Cross, created between 1395 and 1403 for the Carthusian monastery of Champmol, founded by Philip the Bold in 1383 just outside Dijon. For a long time, scholars thought the top of the monument included a crucified Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist, but it more likely featured only Christ, with Mary Magdalene kneeling at the foot of the cross. The cross and whatever stood on the terrace below were destroyed sometime after 1736 and before 1789, probably when the building’s roof collapsed. Some fragments of the original cross survive in the Musée Archéologique de Dijon. Around the base are life-sized figures of Old Testament prophets and kings—Moses, David, Daniel, Jeremiah, Zachariah, and Isaiah—each holding phylacteries and books inscribed with verses that medieval interpreters saw as typological prefigurations of Christ’s sacrifice. The physical arrangement, with the Old Testament figures supporting the New Testament scene, makes this typology literal. The pedestal sits atop a hexagonal fountain, and the entire monument is carved from limestone quarried at Tonnerre and Asnières.
A few feet from the Well of Moses is the portal of Champmol’s former mortuary chapel. It includes three sculptural groups by Sluter: a standing Madonna and Child on the trumeau; the duke with his patron saint, John, on the left jamb; and the duchess with her patron saint, Catherine, on the right jamb. Sluter also did most of the work on Philip the Bold’s tomb, which—restored and partly reconstructed—now resides in the Museum of Fine Arts in Dijon, housed in the former ducal palace. Additionally, Sluter was one of the sculptors of the pleurants, or mourners, that fill the niches below the tombs of Philip the Bold, his wife Margaret, and John the Fearless.
- born
- 1340s, Haarlem
- died
- 1405 or 1406, Dijon
- field
- Sculpture
- nationality
- Dutch
- known_for
- Well of Moses, portal sculptures at Champmol, tomb of Philip the Bold
Lore & Background
The name 'Claes de Slutere van Herlam' is inscribed in the Register of the Corporation of Stonemasons and Sculptors of Brussels around the years 1379/1380. He then moved to the Burgundian capital of Dijon, where from 1385 to 1389 he was the assistant of Jean de Marville, court sculptor to Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. From 1389 to his death he was court sculptor himself, with the rank of valet de chambre. He was succeeded by his nephew Claus de Werve.
Reader's Guide
Sluter's most significant work is the so-called Well of Moses (1395–1403), or the Great Cross. It was created for the Carthusian monastery of Champmol, which was founded by Philip the Bold right outside Dijon in 1383. For many years, the top portion was thought to have included (along with Christ on a cross), sculptures of the Virgin and John the Evangelist. However it was more likely just Christ, with Mary Magdalene kneeling at the foot of the cross. The cross, and whatever was on the terrace below, was destroyed at some point after 1736 and before 1789, probable because the roof of the building protecting the monument collapsed. Some fragments from the original Cross are preserved in the Musée Archéologique de Dijon. Life-sized figures representing Old Testament prophets and kings (Moses, David, Daniel, Jeremiah, Zachariah, and Isaiah) stand around the base, holding phylacteries and books inscribed with verses from their respective texts, which were interpreted in the Middle Ages as typological prefigurations of the sacrifice of Christ. The work's physical structure, in which the Old Testament figures support those of the New Dispensation, literalizes the typological iconography. The pedestal surmounts a hexagonal fountain. The entire monument is executed in limestone quarried from Tonnerre and Asnières. The portal of the former mortuary chapel of Champmol is positioned a few feet away from the Well of Moses. It consists of three sculptural groups by Sluter: a standing Madonna and Child at the trumeau; the duke and St. John, his patron saint, at the left jamb and the duchess and her patron saint, Catherine, at the right one. Sluter was also responsible for the main part of the work on Philip's tomb, which (restored and partly reconstructed) has been moved to the Museum of Fine Arts which is housed in the former ducal palace in Dijon. Sluter was one of the sculptors of the pleurants, or mourners, which occupy niches below the tombs of Philip the Bold, his wife Margaret, and John the Fearless.
Did You Know?
- Sluter's name appears in the Register of the Corporation of Stonemasons and Sculptors of Brussels around 1379/1380.
- He served as assistant to Jean de Marville from 1385 to 1389 before becoming court sculptor himself.
- The Well of Moses was created for the Carthusian monastery of Champmol, founded by Philip the Bold in 1383.
- The cross atop the Well of Moses was destroyed at some point after 1736 and before 1789, possibly due to a roof collapse.
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