The Last Judgment

The triptych is probably identical with the commission of 1526-27 by the van Swieten family for a memorial in the Pieterskerk, Leiden.

During the iconoclastic riots of 1566, Lucas van Leyden's Last Judgment, his most famous painting, was saved from destruction by the city of Leiden. It was moved in stages from the Pieterskerk to the burgomasters' chamber in the town hall, where it could be seen by visitors for nearly three hundred years. In 1602 the township added to the glory of the painting by turning down a very generous offer for it from Emperor Rudolf II. The man who moved the painting to the town hall was an artist who served important positions in the Leiden city government for half a century, Isaac Claesz. van Swanenburg (1537-1614), the father of Rembrandt's first master, Jacob Isaacsz. van Swanenburg.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 8 minutes): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem K 626: Dies irae