Antwerp School, ca.1500. "Encounter of Abraham... Lot 16

Antwerp School, ca.1500. "Encounter of Abraham with Melchizedek". Relief on wood. Measurements: 60 x 63 cm. In this relief from the Renaissance period and Flemish school, a theme little visited by the history of art has been represented, although some of the great masters (the case of Rubens, also Flemish) did deal with it. As recorded in Genesis, the king of Salem, Melchisedek, went out to meet the victorious general Abraham, offering him bread and wine and blessing him. Here, each figure has been individually carved, establishing links with the characters flanking them. The narrative, fresh and anecdotal, unfolds naturally, accompanied by rich gestural choreography. The interweaving of gestures and glances is intended to represent a symbolic and intense moment of exchange, which is the first foreshadowing of the Eucharist in the Bible. Theologians considered Melchisedek a prefiguration of Christ and regarded his offerings as a forerunner of the Lord's Supper. Around 1500 Antwerp replaced Bruges as the main commercial centre of the Low Countries, which had an impact on artistic creation. The Antwerp School is an expression for the artists active in Antwerp, first during the 16th century when the city was the economic centre of Flanders (the period in question), and then during the 17th century when it became the artistic stronghold of the Flemish Baroque with Rubens.