Jesse Tree

Carved out of a single piece of oak, this sculpture probably filled the predella, or platform, of a carved altarpiece. The Tree of Jesse expresses in visual form the prophecy of Isaiah and the genealogy of Christ as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesse was the father of King David and an ancestor of Christ. His lineage links the New Testament to the Old, and is therefore significant in Christian theology. The trunk of a tree once sprouted from Jesse’s chest, connecting him to the royal ancestors of Christ depicted on either side of the carving: on the left, King David, and on the right, King Solomon. The use of this iconography might be connected to a late medieval interest in the secular genealogies of royalty, as promoted by the northern European aristocracy. Similarly, the naturalistic style and medieval dress of the figures reflect an impulse to connect biblical stories to contemporary life.