Triptych of the Virgin and Child with Saints

Description

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 gilded sculpture and painting that was a common feature of German altarpieces in this period. The emphasis on youthful, female saints suggests that this was a devotional triptych for a community of nuns.

Provenance

Julius Böhler, Munich, by 1913 [according to registrar’s records]; sold to Martin A. Ryerson (d. 1932), Chicago, 1913; bequeathed to the AIC, 1933.

Triptych of the Virgin and Child with Saints

German

c. 1510

Accession Number

16336

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

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection