Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes (one of a set of 12 scenes from The Life of Christ)
ca. 1525–30
Medium
Stained glass
Dimensions
Overall: 26 1/8 × 19 1/2 in. (66.4 × 49.5 cm)
Classification
Glass-Stained
Culture
Flemish, Leuven
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Henry Goldman, 1944
Accession Number
44.114.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jan Rombouts, a Flemish artist active in Leuven during the early sixteenth century, created this vibrant stained-glass panel around 1525–30 as part of a larger series illustrating scenes from the Life of Christ. The work depicts the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, in which Christ multiplies five loaves and two fish to feed a vast crowd. Rendered in colored glass with delicate leading, the panel captures the moment of divine abundance through expressive figures of Christ, men, women, and the symbolic fish. Stained glass held profound cultural importance in Flemish churches of the period, ser...