has abstract
| - A triptych of the Virgin and Child, with saints and an unidentified donor couple by the Master of Delft belongs to the Rijksmuseum but is on long-term loan to the Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht. It is dated to c. 1500–1510. The iconography of the central panel is unusual, and its meaning disputed. The Master of Delft, at the tail-end of Early Netherlandish painting, was given his notname in 1913 by Max Jakob Friedländer, with this as one of the "founding group" of works attributed to him, now somewhat expanded, and given dates from the approximate range 1490 to 1520. This painting was previously described as "Haarlem school, c. 1510" when it first appeared on the modern art market in 1919, then as "Delft, c. 1500" in 1923. It was given to the Rijksmuseum in 1933. Dendrochronology suggests a date "in or after 1510". The main panel is 87.1 cm tall and 69.2 cm wide, the side ones 86.5 cm tall and 31.5 wide. As was usual with triptychs, the side wings are hinged, and when closed a different view of the work is seen. Typically the painting was intended to be kept closed most of the time, but opened on special feasts or perhaps Sundays. In this case the closed wings show an Annunciation, mostly in grisaille except for the hair and other small areas. The wings were sawed through at the Rijksmuseum, so that the outsides could be displayed on their own. (en)
|