Twelve Members of the Haarlem Brotherhood of Jerusalem Pilgrims
Twelve Members of the Haarlem Brotherhood of Jerusalem Pilgrims
Twelve Members of the Haarlem Brotherhood of Jerusalem Pilgrims
By Jan van Scorel
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Twelve Members of the Haarlem Brotherhood of Jerusalem Pilgrims
Twelve Members of the Haarlem Brotherhood of Jerusalem Pilgrims
Twelve Members of the Haarlem Brotherhood of Jerusalem Pilgrims
This is one of the earliest group portraits in Northern Netherlandish art. The Haarlem Jerusalem brotherhood was founded around 1506: any man or woman who had visited the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem could become a member. Jan van Scorel portrayed the 12 brothers as if they were in a procession towards the Holy Sepulchre (top left). They are carrying palm branches, religious symbols: at the head is a man with two branches, he had been a pilgrim twice. Under each portrait is a verse with the pilgrim’s name and the year in which he went to Jerusalem. The third man from the right is the painter himself: he had travelled to Jerusalem in 1520.