Goswijn van der Weyden was born into an artistic family. Both is mother and father were artists and he was the grandson of the celebrated Rogier van der Weyden, the official painter of the city of Brussels. The artist apprenticed in his father’s studio and later moved to Antwerp where he became known for his fine color harmonies and attention to detail in his paintings.
The central panel of this triptych depicts the Crucifixion with Mary and St. John flanking the cross. On the left wing is the Bearing of the Cross and shown on the right is the Lamentation over Christ. The triptych is also painted on the verso, or exterior, of the wings. One wing is painted with the initials MC and the motto Spes mea in Domino (My hope is in the Lord) with a miter and crosier (symbols of an abbot). On the other wing are the initials MC and a coat of arms with a bull’s head on a blue background over a red rose on gold. The coat of arms has been identified as belonging to Marcus Cruyt, the 27th abbot of the Abbey of St. Bernard-on-the-Scheldt in Hemiksem, near Antwerp. Van der Weyden created the painting on the occasion of Cruyt’s promotion to abbot in 1517.
