The Morrison Triptych
Artist: Master of the Morrison Triptych (Flemish (active Bruges and Antwerp), ca. 1500-1525)
Date: about 1500-1510
Dimensions:
wings: 43 5/8 x 14 5/8 in. (110.8 x 37.2 cm).
center panel: 38 3/8 x 23 3/4 in. (97.5 x 60.4 cm).
Medium: oil on wood panels
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1954.5A-C
Label Text:The Morrison Triptych, named for a former owner, Alfred Morrison (1821–1897), was made as an expression of—and a focus for—Christian devotion. The central image depicts the Virgin Mary seated on a low throne and flanked by two musical angels, the infant Jesus seated on her lap. The left-hand panel shows Saint John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus and the last biblical prophet. Saint John the Evangelist is on the right-hand panel. The two outer panels, or wings, are hinged, designed to close over the center panel. When the altarpiece was closed (which was most of the time), the images of the first sinners, Adam and Eve, standing against shadowy backgrounds (see illustration), confronted worshipers with their own sins. When the altarpiece was opened to reveal the bright, colorful interior, the Christian believer saw the possibility of redemption as represented by the Christ Child and the Virgin Mary—the new, sinless Adam and Eve.
[image of closed exterior panels: Zen/Art/Western European/Painting/ “1954_5A closed without handle”]
[image of closed exterior panels: Zen/Art/Western European/Painting/ “1954_5A closed without handle”]
On view
In Collection(s)