Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History


    • Christ Carrying the Cross, with the Crucifixion; The Resurrection, with the Pilgrims of Emmaus (triptych wings), ca. 1510
    Gerard David (Netherlandish, ca. 1455–1523)
    Oil on oak panel

    Left wing 34 1/2 x 11 5/8 in. (87.7 x 29.5 cm), painted surface 34 x 11 in. (86.2 x 27.9 cm); right wing 34 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. (86.6 x 30 cm), painted surface 34 x 11 1/8 in. (86.3 x 28.2 cm)
    Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.119)

    Archangel Gabriel; The Virgin Annunciate (exterior of triptych wings), ca. 1510
    Gerard David (Netherlandish, ca. 1455–1523)
    Oil on oak panel

    Left wing 34 1/2 x 11 5/8 in. (87.7 x 29.5 cm), painted surface 34 x 11 in. (86.2 x 27.9 cm); right wing 34 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. (86.6 x 30 cm), painted surface 34 x 11 1/8 in. (86.3 x 28.2 cm)
    Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.120)

    Gerard David painted in Bruges all his life. Where he trained is unknown, although his early works show the influence of his northern Netherlandish roots and of the art of Hugo van der Goes and Dieric Bouts. The two Passion scenes, with the grisaille Annunciation panels that decorated their reverses, originally formed the movable wings of an altarpiece. When the wings were closed, the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Annunciate were shown. When opened on certain feast days, the Christ Carrying the Cross and the Resurrection would have been displayed, flanking a central image, probably the Lamentation. By the late nineteenth century, the fronts and backs of the wings had been sawn apart in a vertical slice, separating each panel in two, and dislodging the wings from the central panel.

    The wings are thought to represent Gerard David's mature style, characterized by deep, translucent colors and the sensitive integration of figures and space, as shown in Christ Carrying the Cross and the Resurrection. The Annunciation is executed in grisaille to emulate sculpture, yet the sensitive faces and flesh tones depart from the monochromatic gray, rendering the figures in a softer, naturalistic vein prevalent in Bruges paintings at the turn of the century.

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    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Salinger, Margaretta M. "An Annunciation by Gerard David." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 9, no. 9 (May, 1951)
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    • On view: Gallery 953
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    • Christ Carrying the Cross, with the Crucifixion; The Resurrection, with the Pilgrims of Emmaus (triptych wings), ca. 1510
    Gerard David (Netherlandish, ca. 1455–1523)
    Oil on oak panel

    Left wing 34 1/2 x 11 5/8 in. (87.7 x 29.5 cm), painted surface 34 x 11 in. (86.2 x 27.9 cm); right wing 34 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. (86.6 x 30 cm), painted surface 34 x 11 1/8 in. (86.3 x 28.2 cm)
    Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.119)

    Archangel Gabriel; The Virgin Annunciate (exterior of triptych wings), ca. 1510
    Gerard David (Netherlandish, ca. 1455–1523)
    Oil on oak panel

    Left wing 34 1/2 x 11 5/8 in. (87.7 x 29.5 cm), painted surface 34 x 11 in. (86.2 x 27.9 cm); right wing 34 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. (86.6 x 30 cm), painted surface 34 x 11 1/8 in. (86.3 x 28.2 cm)
    Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.120)


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