Diptych of the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion

Description

This diptych, a hinged and portable work used for private devotion, was probably made in the Latin Kingdom established in the Holy Land by the Crusaders. In style, technique, and the use of both Latin and Greek inscriptions, it shows a mixture of Eastern and Western elements. The diptych may have been made by an Italian craftsman, possibly working in the coastal city of Acre, which was the capital of a reduced crusader kingdom in the late 13th century. This type of private devotional work, and related Byzantine models imported back into Western Europe, exerted a powerful influence on later painting in Italy, France, and the Low Countries.

Provenance

Albin Chalandon, Paris, by 1850; by descent to Henri Chalandon, La Grange Blanche, Parcieux, near Lyon [according to letter on November 11, 1924 from Robert Langton Douglas to Martin Ryerson in Art Institute Archives]; sold by Chalandon to Robert Langton Douglas, London, by 1924 [source cited above]; sold by Langton Douglas to Martin A. Ryerson (d. 1932), Chicago, 1924 [incoming receipt dated November 17, 1924, copy in curatorial file]; on loan to the Art Institute of Chicago from 1924; bequeathed to the Art Institute, 1933.

Diptych of the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion

Eastern Mediterranean

c. 1280

Accession Number

16241

Medium

Tempera on panel

Dimensions

Overall: 37.9 × 59.1 cm (14 15/16 × 23 5/16 in.); Left wing: 38 × 29.5 cm (14 15/16 × 11 5/8 in.); Right wing: 38 × 29.5 cm (14 15/16 × 11 5/8 in.)

Classification

tempera

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection