DOUVERMAN, Hendrick

(b. ~1482 ?, d. ~1543 Kalkar)

Hendrick Douverman (also Heinrich Douwermann) was a Netherlandish wood-carver belonging to a circle of sculptors that included Hendrick Douverman, Heinrich van Holt, and Arnt van Tricht. This circle was active in the first half of the sixteenth century in Kalkar, a town in the Lower Rhine region of Germany near the Dutch border (near Kleve). His masterpiece, the Seven Sorrows Altarpiece in the church in Kalkar was executed in 1518-22. Although he worked with tough, unyielding oak, he achieved spacial effects that really can only be created in limewood and other softer kinds of works.

St Ursula

The statue of St Ursula is stylistically close to Douverman’s masterpiece, the Kalkar Altarpiece. Originally the statue was given a colourful finish, which was probably leached off in the 19th century to conform to contemporary taste.

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Tree of Jesse

The picture shows the predella of the Seven Sorrows Altarpiece in Kalkar, which was the masterpiece of the excellent wood-carver, Hendrick Douwerman. This altarpiece displays the technical mastery of the artist. Although he worked with tough, unyielding oak, he achieved spatial effects that really can only be created in limewood and other softer kinds of wood.

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Virgin and Child

Despite the care with which Douwerman carved his statues, he was often undiscriminating in his choice of wood. That applies to his Virgin and Child, which has some very obvious pegs and inserts.

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