Earlier this month, the Worcester Art Museum (WAM) announced the purchase of a painting of the entombment by Maerten van Heemskerck (1498–1574), a central panel that originally formed part of a sixteenth-century Netherlandish triptych. This significant acquisition marks a rare opportunity to reunite the panel with its donor wings, which have been on long-term loan to the museum.

“Discoveries of Old Master works, along with new attributions, are still being made today—though rarely at this level of quality,” said Matthias Waschek, Jean and Myles McDonough Director. “It takes intuition and detective work by connoisseurs, with specialists authenticating the attribution and conservators revealing hidden details beneath centuries of grime. We are grateful for Van Heemskerck expert Peter van den Brink, who recognized the connection between the donor panels on long-term loan at the Museum and this newly acquired central panel. Thanks to the gallerists’ commitment to placing the work in a museum and Claire Whitner’s initiative, we can reunite this triptych after many years, possibly centuries —a remarkable moment that enriches our art historical narrative.”

Maerten van Heemskerck returned to the entombment as a subject repeatedly throughout his career. The entombment is a common theme in art history, depicting the New Testament scene of Christ’s body being placed in a tomb, surrounded by mourners including Saint Mary, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and Mary Magdalene. In the painting by Van Heemskerck, the background reveals Calvary with the empty cross, flanked by two others still bearing the bodies of the thieves. Van Heemskerck’s dynamic composition reflects the influence of his travels to Italy, particularly his exposure to Michelangelo’s frescoes in Rome and the works of Giovanni Bellini and Andrea Mantegna in northern Italy. The artist’s mastery of foreshortening and anatomical detail is evident in the lifelike rendering of Christ’s body.

The two wing panels, originally part of the triptych, feature portraits of the family that commissioned the work. Their rocky grotto backgrounds and landscape elements align with the central panel, confirming their original connection. The central painting was likely displayed in the artist’s studio, where prospective buyers could purchase it and commission custom wings that would then be attached to the central panel. Now on long-term loan at WAM, the Selldorff family’s panels were once part of the collection of Tom Selldorff’s grandfather, Richard Neumann, an Austrian Jewish collector whose artworks were looted by the Nazis. The panels were not returned to Neumann’s heirs until 2011.

Starting this summer, the painting and its donor wings will be displayed together for the first time in centuries in the Museum’s European art galleries.