Altarpiece of the Guild of the Joiners

It is now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp. It is sometimes also known as the Passion Altarpiece or the Martyrdom Altarpiece after the scenes of the martyrdoms of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist on the side panels. Both these saints were patrons of carpenters and also appeared in grisaille on the outside of the side panels. The central panel shows the Lamentation over the Dead Christ.

It is recorded as the work of Quinten Metsys. Materials recorded for it are oil paint and panel. Recorded constituent parts are The Lamentation over the Dead Christ, Salome is given the head of John the Baptist, Saint John the Baptist and The Martyrdom of Saint John. It is associated with Belgium. The record gives 1511 as its date of establishment or first appearance. Recorded genres are religious art. It is recorded in the collection of Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp and Vlaamse Kunstcollectie.

The new guild first approached Peterceels and Van Kessel, two carvers active in Leuven, but this and a further commission to a sculptor in Antwerp in 1503 all fell through. In 1508 the commission was transferred to Massijs, who had already produced a now-lost altarpiece showing the Descent from the Cross for the Coopers' Guild The contract between the joiners' guild and Massijis still survives, stipulating a payment of 300 guilders to the artist, though when the painting was finally delivered on 26 August 1511 it decided instead to set up a fund for Quinten and Catharina, the artist's children by his first marriage to Alijt van Tuylt.