Dieric Bouts d. Ä.
"Ecce Agnus Dei", um 1462/64
Eichenholz, 53,8 x 41,2 cm
Erworben 1989 mit Unterstützung der Kulturstiftung der Länder
Inv. Nr. 15192
"Ecce Agnus Dei"
The point of reference for this representation is the Bible: As John the Baptist was preaching on the Jordan and saw Jesus going past, he said to his listeners: "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1,29 and 36). The first disciples then followed Jesus (John 1,37). The commissioner of this work applied this to himself: John the Baptist, perhaps his patron saint, instructs him to "follow" Jesus. The "imitatio Christi" was of central importance in the 15th century to the devotio moderna, a movement inspired by religious fervour, which spread from the Netherlands.