Twelve Members of the Haarlem Brotherhood of Jerusalem Pilgrims

Twelve pious men, ranged two by two in a procession, with palm fronds in their hands. They are members of the Haarlem ‘Jerusalem Brotherhood’. Everyone who had visited the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem could become a member of the brotherhood. Societies like this were also to be found in other towns and cities. On the left, the servant of the brotherhood shows the Sepulchre in a small painting within the painting. The second man from the left carries two palm fronds: he had made the pilgrimage to far-off Jerusalem twice. Under the portraits, edifying verses provide information about the people and the year of their pilgrimage. The third person from the right is the painter Van Scorel himself. This almost three-metre-wide panel with its realistic, carefully painted heads is one of the oldest group portraits in Northern Netherlandish art.