St Maarten

St Maarten 
(circa 1450 - 1451)

Jan Nude

In the Middle Ages, the diocese of Utrecht was an important centre of sculpture. With more than forty churches and chapels, there was great demand for sculptures to venerate the countless saints. Little remains of this religious art, however. Mob rage in the sixteenth century frequently targeted the churches, with entire church interiors wrecked and sculptures demolished. Whatever remained intact after these iconoclastic furies disappeared with the advent of the Reformation (in Utrecht in 1580). As part of preparing the Dom church for Protestant services, the Dom chapter in charge of the cathedral took the initiative of having all sculptures removed by a contractor. A small selection of sculptures was thus safely stored in the chapter’s archive. Following the abolishment of the Dom chapter in 1811, the sculptures were offered for sale. They were purchased by the Utrecht architect Christiaan Kramm, who sold them on to the municipal council in 1838. The central figure is Saint Martin, the patron saint of the cathedral and of the city of Utrecht. The saint is depicted as a Roman officer on his horse, cutting a piece from his mantle for a beggar with a mangy dog. The sculptures has been preserved remarkably intact. Even the original polychrome can still be seen to some extent.