Scenes of the Life of the Virgin, from an Altar Frontal
Unknown Artist
1330s or 1340s
Medium
Silk, gold thread, linen; raised work, embroidery: split, stem, running, fishbone, and couching stitches
Dimensions
16.8 × 127 cm · mounted: 27.9 × 137.2 cm
Classification
Embroidery
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Accession Number
1978.36
About this artwork
This rare panel originally hung above a large embroidery that decorated the front of an altar in a church. The narrative begins with the Virgin’s parents and her early life; that panel is now in the Toledo Museum of Art. Cleveland’s portion continues the story with the Annunciation of the Virgin, Adoration of the Shepherds, Adoration of the Magi, Presentation of Christ, Christ among the Doctors, and the Assumption of the Virgin. The Death of the Virgin scene is likely missing. Painters usually s...