Triptych of the Virgin and Child with Saints
c. 1510
Medium
Oil and tempera on panel
Dimensions
Framed overall: 155 × 241.3 × 8.3 cm (61 × 95 × 3 1/4 in.); Left wing: 154.7 × 60.4 × 8.3 cm (60 7/8 × 23 3/4 × 3 1/4 in.); Center: 155 × 120.1 × 8.3 cm (61 × 47 1/4 × 3 1/4 in.); Right wing: 154.7 × 60.4 × 8.3 cm (60 7/8 × 23 3/4 × 3 1/4 in.)
Classification
triptych
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
16336
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In this triptych, Mary, crowned as the queen of heaven, is surrounded by female saints in an enclosed garden (called a hortus conclusus) evoking paradise. Singled out on the right wing is Saint Ursula, thought to have been a British princess who set out on a pilgrimage to Rome, only to be martyred along with her throng of companions, depicted here at a miniature scale. Saint Agnes, another martyr of the early Christian era, is on the left wing. The gold framing arches refer to the combination of...
About the Artist
German
**German, Franconia (active ca. 1485–1500)** was an anonymous artist from the Franconian region of northern Bavaria, Germany, renowned for his contributions to late Gothic graphic arts. Little is known of his early life or training, as details about many anonymous masters from this era remain undocumented. Franconia, with its vibrant artistic centers like Nuremberg, fostered a rich tradition of re...