Altarpiece with scenes from the Life of the Virgin, carved oak, Southern Netherlands (probably Brussels), about 1520

The altarpiece, whose wings are now missing, is dedicated to scenes from the Life of the Virgin. On the left is the Adoration of the Shepherds (the figure of the Christ Child missing) and a smaller rendering of the Annunciation to the Shepherds in the background. On the right the Adoration of the Magi is shown, with a Journey of the Magi unfolding in the background. The central compartment shows the Death of the Virgin and the Assumption. Below the central scene, a square panel contains the crouching personification of Synagogue, blindfolded and holding the tablets of the old law. Under the flanking scenes, two blank shields are placed at the centre of two bands of foliate decoration. The three apostles standing on the pinnacles at the sides and above the centre of the frame are restorations, probably added before the altarpiece was purchased by the museum.

Cathedral of Liège (?); in the possession of the Alliance des Arts, Paris, by 1847 (then said to have come from Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent); bought from M. Couvreur, rue Notre-Dame des Victoires 48, Paris, in 1854.

In 1847, when the altarpiece was owned by the Alliance des Arts in Paris, it was believed to have come from Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent, as the Alliance des Arts had a second, very similar altarpiece in their possession which was thought to show scenes from the life of this cathedral's patron, Saint Bavo. Although the style of both altarpieces' carvings clearly indicates an origin in the Southern Netherlands and the two objects may well have originally formed a pair, no earlier documents corroborating their direct association, or their Ghent provenance have ever emerged. However, on occasion of the second altarpiece's reappearance on the art market in 2019 its iconography was reexamined, and it has been convincingly suggested that it shows scenes not from the Life of St Bavo, but from the Life of St Lambert, Bishop of Liège-Maastricht (Paris, Sotheby's, 16 May 2019, lot 28). If we accept the early association of the V&A's altarpiece, showing scenes from the Life of the Virgin, with this altarpiece, the now destroyed Cathedral of Liège would a more likely candidate for both objects' provenance, as this church was dedicated to both the Virgin and Saint Lambert.

In addition to the later addition of three apostles, currently crowning the pinnacles and the centre of the frame, at the time of acquisition nine further apostles were arranged around a separately made base, which has now been removed. A watercolour by William Linnaeus Casey entitled 'Marlborough House: First Room' and dated 1856 documents this arrangement (London, Victoria and Albert Museum, mus. no. 7279). There is much evidence of nineteenth-century restoration in the architectural elements, as well as in the carpentry of the caisse or shrine. The wings were already missing before the altarpiece's acquisition by the museum, and may either have been painted, or also decorated with carved scenes. There are no traces of paint on the sculptures, and no marks have been found on the carving and caisse.

Winged altarpieces such as this would have originally been, were produced in great numbers in the Netherlands in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. They often consist of a series of small scenes, carved or painted, set in an elaborate architectural frameworks.

Carved wooden altarpieces such as this were produced in great numbers in the Netherlands in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. They consisted of small scenes (usually painted), set in an elaborate architectural framework. This altarpiece was said at the time of its acquisition to have come from the Cathedral of St. Bavo in Ghent. The scenes shown are the Adoration of the Shepherds (on the left), the Adoration of the Magi (on the right), and the Death of the Virgin with the Assumption of the Virgin above and the blindfolded figure of Synagogue below (centre). Recent scholarship has suggested that this altarpiece is the pair to one which depicts the life of St Lambert, and which appeared recently on the art market. The Virgin and St Lambert were both patron saints of the medieval cathedral of Liège (destroyed 1794 and subsequently rebuilt), and it seems probable that both altarpieces were originally in Liège and not Ghent.

1049:1 to 11-1855