Two Wings from the So-Called Salamanca Triptych
Artist: Jan Gossaert, called Mabuse (Flemish, ca. 1478-1536)
Date: 1521
Dimensions:
each wing: 47 1/4 x 18 1/2 in. (120 x 47 cm)
Medium: oil on wood panel
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1952.85A-B
Label Text:Originally part of a three-section Christian altarpiece (triptych), these wings would have been hinged to a now-missing central panel. An altarpiece is a devotional object, and this example would likely have been placed on an altar in the private chapel of a wealthy family. It was painted by Flemish artist Jan Gossart, who visited Rome in 1508–1509, where he was influenced by the ancient Greek and Roman sculpture and classically-inspired Italian Renaissance style he encountered there.
When the altarpiece was closed, as here, the viewer was presented with the biblical Annunciation scene in which the Archangel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary and announces that she will miraculously conceive the Christ Child. They are painted in grisaille—monochrome gray—as if they are stone sculptures, placed in an elaborate Gothic architectural setting. When open, the viewer saw the paintings—now in full color—on the other side of the panels. John the Baptist (on the left) and St. Peter (on the right), in a Renaissance interior, flanked the central image, which may have depicted a scene from the life of Christ.
When the altarpiece was closed, as here, the viewer was presented with the biblical Annunciation scene in which the Archangel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary and announces that she will miraculously conceive the Christ Child. They are painted in grisaille—monochrome gray—as if they are stone sculptures, placed in an elaborate Gothic architectural setting. When open, the viewer saw the paintings—now in full color—on the other side of the panels. John the Baptist (on the left) and St. Peter (on the right), in a Renaissance interior, flanked the central image, which may have depicted a scene from the life of Christ.
On view
In Collection(s)