Christ Appearing to His Mother

The Artist For a biography of Juan de Flandes, see the Catalogue Entry for The Marriage Feast at Cana (1982.60.20).

The Painting and its Function: In one of the lesser-known episodes of the Passion of Christ, Jesus appears to his mother, the Virgin Mary, after his Resurrection, which is depicted through the double doors in the background of the painting. This event is not found in the Gospels but is vividly described in the thirteenth-century Meditations on the Life of Christ by the Pseudo-Bonaventure.[1] In some representations of the theme, Christ carries a staff and the banner of the Resurrection (for example, see the Follower of Rogier van der Weyden, National Gallery of Art, Washington; 1937.1.45). Here instead, Christ catches his mother by surprise as she turns from reading her devotional book and acknowledges her son with a gesture of astonishment (see also Master of the Saint Ursula Legend, 32.100.63b). Christ, in turn, displays the stigmata of his Crucifixion—the nail holes in his hands and the wound in his side, where Longinus pierced Christ with his lance to verify his death. The poses of the two protagonists are similar to those of Gabriel and the Virgin in Annunciation scenes (see for example, see Hans Memling, 17.190.7), indicating an understanding of this image as an annunciation of eternal life.

The text on the border of the Virgin’s mantle comes from the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–49, see Signatures, Inscriptions, Markings). It expresses Mary’s acknowledgement of the Incarnation in the Gospel of Luke, and her response to her cousin Elizabeth’s recognition of her as the mother of Christ. Perhaps the earliest-known Marian hymn, the Magnificat is sung or recited within the liturgy of the Hours, often at Vespers. The decorative arch that frames the figures contains sculpted scenes from the end of Mary’s life. They are, in chronological order, counterclockwise from the center of the arch: the holy women telling the Virgin of their visit to Christ’s tomb, the Ascension, Pentecost, the Annunciation of Mary’s impending death, the Dormition of the Virgin, and the Assumption. Below these scenes are pedestals supporting the figures of Saint Mark the Evangelist on the left and Saint Paul on the right. Two of the column capitals in the interior show sculpted scenes from the Old Testament that prefigure Christ’s triumph over death: David’s conquering of Goliath on the front left, and Samson and the Lion and Samson Carrying Away the Gates of Gaza on the back right. An angel hovers over the apex of the arch, carrying a crown and a banderole that reads: Mulier h[a]ec perseveravit vi[n]cens o[mn]ia ideo / data e[st] ei corona (This woman persevered, conquering all; therefore, a crown was given unto her) (Apocalypse 6:1).

This painting is based on the far-right panel of a slightly larger, but otherwise nearly identical folding triptych in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, known as the Miraflores Triptych, after the Carthusian monastery outside of Burgos, Spain, where it was donated by King Juan II of Castile in 1445, remaining there at least until 1783 (Grosshans 1981; Kemperdick 2015; see fig. 1 above).[2] The Met's panel was joined originally to a central panel with an image of the Pietà and a left panel of the Nativity, altogether forming a chronology of the most significant events in the life of Christ—his Incarnation, his sacrificial death for humankind, and his victory over death. The central and left panels remain in the Capilla Real in Granada, Spain, the earliest known location of the triptych, placed there at the burial site of Isabela I of Castile in 1505. At some point before 1632, The Met’s panel was separated from the Nativity and Pietà, which were cut down to fit the doors of a reliquary shrine for King Philip IV of Spain in the Capilla Real. These two panels and the one in The Met are collectively referred to as the Granada-New York Triptych.

Antonio Ponz stated that the (since lost) libro becerro of the Miraflores Charterhouse recorded that Juan II of Castile donated what is known as the Miraflores Triptych, “painted by the Flemish master Roger,” to the monastery in 1445.[3] He reiterated the oral tradition that the triptych was a gift to Juan II, King of Spain, from Pope Martin V (d. 1431). However, as Kemperdick (2015) has pointed out, this is unlikely, because dendrochronology of the triptych dates it at the earliest to the mid-1430s, that is, after the pope’s death. Furthermore, he noted, in 1428–32, Rogier was still in Robert Campin’s workshop and unlikely personally to have received such a commission until managing his own atelier. Finally, Kemperdick queried why the pope would have commissioned a work from Rogier, when at that time in Italy it was Jan van Eyck who was known and highly revered, not Rogier, who was deemed his follower. Alternatively, the altarpiece could have been given to Juan II by Pope Martin’s successor, Eugene IV (1431–47),[4] or the king could have commissioned it himself. In any event, Juan donated the altarpiece to the Miraflores chapterhouse in honor of his deceased first wife, María of Aragon (m. 1420–1445), at a time when the charterhouse was being converted into a monastery. This was ultimately the burial site of Juan II and Isabel de Portugal (m. 1447–54), Juan’s second wife (Weiss 2021).[5]

The Granada-New York triptych is a somewhat smaller copy, which belonged to Juan II’s daughter, Isabella the Catholic (Isabella I of Castile, 1451–1504). It is likely that Isabella commissioned her own, more portable version for private devotion from one of her court artists, among whom were Juan de Flandes and Michel Sittow (Ainsworth 1998, and see below). Like her father, she bequeathed her version to her final resting place, the Capilla Real in Granada upon her death in 1504. Isabella’s copy of the Miraflores Triptych facilitated her intention to emphasize the continuity between previous rulers and her own reign. Moreover, it reinforced her relationship with her predecessor and father, Juan II, not only in terms of her sovereignty, but also her Christian devotion (Weiss 2021).

The Attribution and Date: The question of the attribution and date of The Met panel and its relationship to the Berlin version has been an ongoing scholarly debate and a connoisseurship conundrum for decades. Only in more recent times, and due to new discoveries made through technical examinations of the related panels, could the matter be resolved. The complete triptych to which The Met painting once belonged is nearly identical to the Miraflores Triptych of about 1440 in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. Early on in 1853, Johann David Passavant had pronounced the Berlin triptych a copy after Rogier van der Weyden (ca. 1399–1464)[6]. When the Granada-New York panels became known in 1908, Gómez-Moreno claimed that they were painted by Rogier, leading to a nearly unanimous agreement by scholars that this grouping was the original, and the Berlin triptych an excellent copy by a member of Rogier’s workshop. The Granada-New York triptych was initially favored because of its distinguished provenance. As mentioned above, the Pieta and Nativity, from which The Met panel was separated early on, have been housed continuously in the Capilla Real, the royal burial site of Isabella I of Castile, brought to the chapel in 1505 upon her death. Among the early supporters of Gómez-Moreno’s attribution of The Met panel to Rogier van der Weyden was Wilhelm von Bode (then curator of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, later the Bode) in whose museum the Miraflores Triptych was housed (Bode 1908–9). Von Bode argued that the Granada-New York panels (the latter was then on the art market in Spain) must have been the altarpiece that Pope Martin V presented to Isabella’s father, Juan II, King of Castile (1405–1454).

This opinion that the Granada-New York triptych was the original produced by Rogier van der Weyden, and the Berlin version a copy of it, persisted, supported by all scholars until Leo van Puyvelde (1953 and 1967) suggested that the Berlin triptych by Rogier preceded the Granada-New York one, which he still considered by Rogier, although from a later date when his palette was lighter. Johannes Taubert (1960) indicated the priority of the Berlin triptych, noting that The Met’s panel was the only one of its ensemble by Rogier—the other two panels by Hispano-Flemish painters made at the end of the fifteenth century. The priority of the Granada-New York triptych over the Berlin version continued to be accepted by all scholars—even by such connoisseurship luminaries as Panofsky (1953), Friedländer (1967), Sonkes (1969, 1970, 1971/72), Davies (1972), and Campbell (1977)—until 1981 (see References). In that year, Rainald Grosshans carried out a thorough investigation of the Berlin triptych, both in terms of iconography and painting process (Grosshans 1981). He discovered that the Berlin paintings exhibited an intuitive perspective system (characteristic of Rogier’s usual method), while the Granada-New York paintings showed a more assured one-point perspective typical of the later fifteenth century. Furthermore, infrared reflectograms of the Berlin paintings revealed a spontaneous underdrawing with many significant changes in the background setting and in the figures, especially the lower edge of the Virgin’s draperies that initially spilled out over the step. The Granada-New York infrared photographs, on the other hand, revealed a more fixed and linear underdrawing based on the final painted layers of the Berlin panels (Grosshans 1981, 1982, fig. 2). This observation was later bolstered by the comprehensive study of the underdrawings in paintings by Rogier van der Weyden and the Master of Flémalle by J. R. J. van Asperen de Boer and his team that confirmed Grosshans’s conclusions (Van Asperen de Boer et al., 1990). These discoveries changed the perception of the relationship between the Berlin and the Granada-New York triptychs, giving priority to the former.

This authoritative reverse of previous scholarly opinion concerning the authorship of the two triptychs prompted further analysis at The Met of the materials used to produce the Christ Appearing to His Mother. While the panel is Baltic oak, as are the majority of Netherlandish painting supports of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, analysis of the ground preparation significantly revealed not the traditional chalk (calcium carbonate), but gypsum (calcium sulphate), which was routinely used for the ground preparation of paintings made in southern Europe (Hruskocy 1991).[7] This suggested that The Met’s painting was most probably made in Spain in front of the Berlin original, then housed at Miraflores. Furthermore, Peter Klein carried out dendrochronology of the Berlin and New York panels, discovering that the former could have been painted around 1435 (Klein 1989), while the latter had an earliest felling date of around 1482—that is, almost twenty years after Rogier van der Weyden’s death in 1464 (Klein 1987, 1991, 2009; Ainsworth 1992).

New questions arose as to how the Granada-New York copies were made, where they were made, and by whom. Jelly Dijkstra indicated that the Granada-New York copies were without a doubt produced directly after the Berlin originals, concluding that the painter was most probably Michel Sittow, who was working for Isabella of Castile between 1480 and 1504, and was documented as having made copies for her.[8] There has been relatively little published technical study to date of Sittow’s paintings, most of which are portraits.[9] Dijkstra (1990) also determined the method by which the size of the Berlin original was reduced, based on trigonometrical calculations and a factor of reduction of 0.865, to make the Granada-New York copies.
Peter Klein, along with Josef Vynkier, fostered an alternative option concerning authorship when they recognized that three of the surviving paintings from the Saint John the Baptist Altarpiece by Juan de Flandes (fig. 3), another of Isabella’s Netherlandish court painters, were executed on panels that came from the same tree as those used for the Granada-New York altarpiece (Klein 1992, 2009), signaling that they were prepared in the same woodworking shop, and likely were present in the same artist’s studio—that of Juan de Flandes.[10] Ponz published the documents for the Saint John the Baptist Altarpiece commissioned by Isabella for the lay choir in the church of Miraflores and painted on site between 1496–99/1500, thus at the same time that the Granada-New York triptych was likely painted (Maroto 2015, pp. 150–51).[11]

Thus, further research ensued that attempted to determine the authorship of The Met’s painting, whether by Michel Sittow or Juan de Flandes. Ainsworth carried out a preliminary close examination of the differences between the Berlin and the New York versions of Christ Appearing to His Mother (1992), and subsequently made comparisons between The Met painting and those by Juan de Flandes (2001, 2008). Except for the degraded ultramarine of the Virgin’s robe and mantle in The Met painting, it is otherwise in good condition. Nonetheless, it cannot match the extraordinary state of preservation of the Berlin triptych. A comparison of certain details of handling and execution are very telling, just as are some aspects of the painted surface, which—as they are insignificant details in the background—were not previously considered. These are helpful to identify, as they show departures from the artist’s main aim, that is, to reproduce as faithfully as possible the stylistic traits of Rogier van der Weyden’s Miraflores Altarpiece. Take, for example, the shrubbery in the background of The Met painting, featured between Christ’s head and his left hand (Ainsworth 1992, fig. 4). Compared to the way Rogier characteristically painted such details in a stylized, decorative manner of arc-like strokes and uniform dotted highlights (fig. 5), here the understanding and observation of nature has informed the approach, which is distinctly akin to that in Juan de Flandes’s paintings, as found for example in the Noli me Tangere of ca. 1500 (Ainsworth 2008, fig. 6). Compared to Rogier’s execution of Christ’s cloak in Christ Appearing to His Mother, The Met version shows strong contrasts of light and dark in the folds of the garment (figs. 7, 8). This is achieved in the latter by painting over an opaque underpaint shadows and highlights with adjacent dark and light brushstrokes. The deepest shadows are enhanced with a thick reddish-black glaze, and the middle tones are introduced by parallel hatching on the peaks of the folds (fig. 9). These traits of execution are comparable to the technique exhibited in the draperies of Zacharias in the Birth and Naming of Saint John (Cleveland Art Museum).[12] Later this technique was employed by Juan de Flandes in a more exaggerated manner in the Palencia retable, in Christ’s red cloak in the Resurrection and Saint Joseph’s cloak in the Nativity.[13]
Even in the build-up of the paint layers in lead white to express sculptural form in the heads, we see Juan de Flandes handling the brush in the same way in several of his paintings. X-radiographs of Christ Appearing to His Mother and the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist of about 1500 show the similar rendering of light on the heads, restricted to the highlights—the broad stroke down the bridge of the nose, the rounded upper lid of the eye, and more broadly applied at the upper cheek and forehead (compare figs. 10 and 11, Ainsworth 2008). The underdrawing revealed by infrared reflectography in Christ Appearing to His Mother can be compared with the underdrawing found in panels from the Saint John the Baptist Altarpiece, as well as in two other paintings by Juan de Flandes in The Met’s collection, The Marriage Feast at Cana (1982.60.20) and Saints Michael and Francis (58.132) (Ainsworth 2008). In all these a quill pen was used, from which the ink does not flow evenly, causing darker and thicker areas of the line, and some slapdash spots of ink. Juan marks the area of Christ’s beard and moustache with dots of ink, rather than a drawn line, a technique he uses in the underdrawings for the other paintings as well (fig. 2).

Such detailed investigations of the materials and working techniques of Juan de Flandes reveal the characteristic traits of his craftsmanship. The attribution to him of the Granada-New York triptych is now widely accepted (among others, Campbell, Maroto in 2015, pp. 43 and 148–52), although at least one scholar still favors Michel Sittow (Weniger 2018, p. 36) and others remain undecided (Kemperdick 2009, p. 325). When commissioned by such an eminent patron as Isabella of Castile to make an exact copy of Rogier van der Weyden’s Miraflores Triptych, Juan de Flandes could clearly adapt his habitual painting style to convincingly duplicate the work of a highly revered master of some sixty years earlier.

Maryan W. Ainsworth 2022; updated from Ainsworth 2011

[1] Isa Ragusa and Rosalie Green, Meditations on the Life of Christ, Princeton, 1961, pp. 359–60. See also James Breckenridge, “’Et Prima Vidit’: The Iconography of the Appearance of Christ to His Mother,” Art Bulletin 39 (1957), pp. 9–32.
[2] For the argument that the Miraflores Triptych was in fact a folding rather than fixed triptych, see Kemperdick 2015, p. 96.
[3] Antonio Ponz Viage de España, 1772–94, 1783, vol. 12, Madrid, pp. 57–58.
[4] As suggested by Ronda Kasl, The Making of Hispano-Flemish Style: Art, Commerce, and Politics in Fifteenth-Century Castile, Turnhout, 2014, p. 15 n. 65.
[5] Weiss 2021. See also Kasl 2014, chapters 3 and 4.
[6] Johann David Passavant, Die christliche Kunst in Spanien, Leipzig, 1853, p. 123.
[7] Murray Pease first identified and commented upon the ground preparation type in his 1947 report, but it wasn’t verified and followed up on until further advances on the question of the attribution arose about The Met’s painting.
[8] The inventories of Isabella’s collection make explicit reference to a devotional panel painting by Michel Sittow, copied after a painting owned by the archbishop of Granada. See Francisco Javier Sáchez Cantón, Libros, tapices y cuadros que colección Isabel la Católica, Madrid, 1950, p. 169. Matthias Weniger concurred with the attribution to Michel Sittow (Weniger 2011, pp. 70–72, no. 1.1-3; Weniger in Washington 2018, p. 56).
[9] On Sittow, see Jazeps Trizna, Michel Sittow, Peintre Revalais de l ’Ecole Brugeoise (1468–1525–26), Les Primitifs Flamands III: Contributions à l’Étude des Primitifs Flamands 6, Brussels, 1976; Maroto 2006 passim; Weniger 2011; and Washington 2018, for which technical studies were originally planned but not carried out.
[10] The central panel of the Saint John the Baptist Altarpiece (1496–99/1500), painted for Miraflores, now is in the Abelló Collection, Madrid, and the wing panels in museums in Antwerp, Cleveland, Geneva, and Belgrade. See Silva Moroto 2006, pp. 33–36, 129–67.
[11] Ponz 1783, p. 56.
[12] Ross M. Merrill, “A Technical Study: ‘Birth and Naming of St. John the Baptist’, Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 63, no. 5 (May 1976), pp. 136–45. See also Catheline Périer-d’Ieteren et al., “Apport des méthodes d'investigation scientifique á l'étude de deux peintures attribuées a Juan de Flandes,” Geneva, Bulletin du Musée d’art et d’histoire 41 (1993), pp. 107–18; and Hélène Mund et al., The Mayer van den Bergh Museum, Antwerp, Corpus of Fifteenth-Century Painting in the Southern Netherlands and the Principality of Liège, vol. 20, Brussels, 2003, pp. 22–27.
[13] Ignace Vandevivere, La Cathédrale de Palencia et l’Église Paroissiale de Cervara de Pisuerga, Les Primitifs Flamands I. Corpus de la Peinture des anciens Pays-Bas Mérioionaux au Quinzième Siècle, vol. 10, Brussels, 1967, pls. 79 (Christ), and 155, 157 (Joseph).

The painting is in generally good condition, with some minor abrasion to the uppermost paint layers, particularly the warm brown paint, as can be seen in Christ’s head and hair. There are several passages of marked discoloration in the Virgin’s blue robe where the paint appears paler and slightly brownish in hue. These discolored passages are located where the robe should be a very deep blue; the original modeling can be better appreciated in the x-radiograph, where the structure of the folds is apparent (see fig. 12 above). The pigments have not been analyzed but this visual phenomenon could be related to the degradation of ultramarine blue.

Sophie Scully 2022

Inscription: Inscribed: (on scroll held by angel) mulier h[a]ec perseveravit vi[n]cens o[mn]ia ideo / data e[st] ei corona: ex apoc.vio.io. (This woman endured all things triumphantly; therefore a crown was given unto her [Apocalypse 6:1].); (on border of Virgin's cloak) MANGNIF[I]CAT A[NIMA MEA] DOMIN[UM] ET ET EXA[LT]AVIT [SPIRITUS] ME[US IN DEO SALUTARI MEO QUI]A RESPEXIT HUMILITATEMANCIL[A]E [SUAE] ECCE ENIM [EX HOC] BEATEM ME [DICENT] . . . AB[?] . . . POTENSESTE[T SANCTUM NOMINE EIUS] ([My soul] doth magnify the Lord, and my [spirit] hath rejoiced [in God my Savior. For he hath] regarded the low estate of [his] handmaiden: for, behold, [from henceforth] . . . [shall call] me blessed . . . that is mighty . . . and [holy is his name] [Luke 1:46-49].)

Isabel la Católica, Queen of Castile and León (d. 1504; inv. 1505, of altarpieces and objects of devotion to be taken to Granada); Capilla Real, Granada (1505–before 1632); Dukes of Osuna, Valencia; [art market, Spain, for several years shortly before 1908]; private collection, London, about 1906–about 1912; [Duveen, London, by 1912–17; sold to Dreicer]; Michael Dreicer, New York (1917–21)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition," May 8–August 1920, unnumbered cat. (p. 8, as by Rogier van der Weyden, lent by Michael Dreicer).

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art Treasures of the Metropolitan," November 7, 1952–September 7, 1953, no. 96.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Masterpieces of Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 16–November 1, 1970, unnumbered cat. (p. 36).

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971, no. 203.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 22, 1998–February 21, 1999, no. 46.

Frankfurt. Städel Museum. "Der Meister von Flémalle und Rogier van der Weyden," November 21, 2008–February 22, 2009, no. 30.

Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. "Der Meister von Flémalle und Rogier van der Weyden," March 20–June 21, 2009, no. 30.

Madrid. Museo Nacional del Prado. "Rogier van der Weyden (ca. 1399–1464)," March 24–June 28, 2015, no. 15.

M[anuel]. Gómez-Moreno Holt, Rinehart and Winston. "Un trésor de peintures inédites du XVe siècle à Grenade." Gazette des beaux-arts, 3rd ser., 40 (1908), pp. 301–2, publishes the two newly discovered panels in Granada as autograph works by Rogier and, admitting that he has not seen it, suggests that the Berlin triptych, from the convent of Miraflores, is a copy [does not mention the present work].

Wilhelm von Bode. "Roger van der Weydens sogen. Reisealtar Kaiser Karls V. im Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum und der Altar mit den Gleichen Darstellungen in der Capilla Real des Doms zu Granada." Amtliche Berichte aus den königlichen Kunstsammlungen 30 (1908–09), cols. 29–35, pl. 15, judging from photographs of the Granada panels and our "Christ Appearing to His Mother" (then on the art market in Spain) finds them to be stronger than the Berlin altarpiece in the handling of the landscape and architecture and in the observation of light and shadow; notes that some of the heads in the panels still in Spain are more impressive than their counterparts in the Berlin triptych and that in general the handling of the former is freer; concludes that the Granada triptych must be the altarpiece by Rogier that Pope Martin V presented to Juan II (see Notes), and calls the Berlin altarpiece a workshop repetition made for Spain under Rogier's supervision, probably not much later.

H[?]. "Der Marien-Altar des Roger van der Weyden." Kunstchronik 20 (December 11, 1909), p. 143.

Valerian von Loga. "Zum Altar von Miraflores." Jahrbuch der Königlich Preuszischen Kunstsammlungen 31 (1910), pp. 54–56, believes that the triptych by Rogier that King Juan II gave to the Convent of Miraflores (see Notes) was brought at Isabella's request to the Royal Chapel at Granada, at which time a copy, possibly by Juan Flamenco [Juan de Flandes], was substituted in its place; notes that the third panel from the ensemble [our picture] was for some time on the art market but has since disappeared without a trace; observes that since the latter was not cut down like the Granada panels to fit the doors of a reliquary made for Philip IV in 1632, it must have been separated from them by that date; mentions a free copy after the composition of Christ Appearing to His Mother owned by Durlacher Bros. in London [now National Gallery of Art, Washington], noting that it also came from Spain.

Hans Posse. Die Gemäldegalerie des Kaiser-Friedrich-Museums. Vol. 2, Die Germänischen Länder. Berlin, 1911, p. 109, catalogues the Berlin altarpiece as a workshop copy of the Granada-New York triptych, which he calls Rogier's earliest known altarpiece.

A. J. Wauters. "Roger van der Weyden—I." Burlington Magazine 22 (October 1912–March 1913), pp. 81–82, pl. 1, calls the Berlin triptych an "ancient copy" and believes that the Granada-New York panels were ordered from Rogier in 1425 by the Magistrate and Chapter of Saint Pierre in Louvain as an offering to Pope Martin V to facilitate the granting of a charter for the proposed University of Louvain; translates the Latin inscription transcribed by Antonio Ponz in 1783 from the Bercerro of the monastery of Miraflores, in which it is stated that in 1445 [at the founding of the monastery], Juan II gave to it at great cost an "oratory" with the "Nativity," the "Descent from the Cross," and "Christ's Appearance to His Mother" by Master Rogel, a great and famous Fleming; places the present work in the possession of Duveen Brothers.

Friedrich Winkler. Der Meister von Flémalle und Rogier van der Weyden. Strasbourg, 1913, pp. 36, 101–3, 166–68, considers the Granada-New York triptych an early work by Rogier and the Berlin panels a copy; incorrectly reports the observation of Tschudi (Jahrbuch der Königlich Preussischen Kunstsammlungen, 19, 1898, pp. 21 f.), regarding the Berlin triptych, that the gesture of John the Baptist in the Master of Flémalle's Werl altarpiece of 1438 was taken from the figure of Christ in the panel of Christ Appearing to His Mother, stating, in an apparently unconscious error, that the source was the figure of the Baptist in the central panel of the Granada-New York triptych; notes that the panel of Christ Appearing was with Duveen Brothers in London from 1912, and that, according to information from Traumann in Madrid came from the collection of the Dukes of Osuna in Valencia, and was for six years in a private collection in England.

Max J. Friedländer. Von Eyck bis Bruegel: Studien zur Geschichte der Niederländischen Malerei. Berlin, 1916, pp. 24–25, 175, considers Christ in our panel to be the source for the figure of John the Baptist [Prado, Madrid] in the Werl altarpiece of 1438, establishing a terminus ante quem of 1438 for the Granada-New York triptych; calls the Berlin version an excellent copy from Rogier's workshop and very probably the work given to the convent of Miraflores by Juan II.

Frank Jewett Mather Jr. "Christ Appearing to His Mother by Rogier de la Pasture." Art in America 5 (April 1917), pp. 143–49, ill., calls the Berlin triptych a "good old copy," and discusses the iconography of our panel; ascribes the painting of this subject in Washington to a folllower of Rogier.

"Dreicer Buys Old Master." Art News (April 21, 1917), p. 1, note that Michael Dreicer has recently purchased this painting.

"Pictures Lent for the Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 15 (August 1920), pp. 185–87, ill.

Martin Conway. The Van Eycks and Their Followers. London, 1921, pp. 134, 138, 140–41, 158–59, notes that the "Granada original" may have come from Miraflores and the Berlin altarpiece, which he calls an ancient copy or studio replica, substituted in its place; dates the Granada-New York triptych before Campin's Werl wing of 1438 (see Ref. Friedländer 1916), although he observes that there may have been an earlier source for both the figure of Christ and John the Baptist.

H. B. W[ehle]. "The Michael Dreicer Collection." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 17 (May 1922), pp. 100–101, ill.

Willy Burger. Roger van der Weyden. Leipzig, 1923, p. 67, considers the Granada-New York triptych Rogier's original and the Berlin altarpiece a copy.

Friedrich Winkler. Die altniederländische Malerei: Die Malerei in Belgien und Holland von 1400–1600. Berlin, 1924, pp. 75–78, suggests that the Berlin altarpiece is a Spanish copy rather than the product of Rogier's shop.

Max J. Friedländer. Die altniederländische Malerei. Vol. 2, Rogier van der Weyden und der Meister von Flémalle. Berlin, 1924, pp. 16–17, 77–78, 91, no. 1, pl. 1, calls the Berlin triptych contemporary with the Granada-New York original, which he is inclined to date before 1427.

Willy Burger. Die Malerei in den Niederlanden 1400–1550. Munich, 1925, p. 49, considers the Granada-New York triptych the original and the Berlin altarpiece a copy.

[Hippolyte] Fierens-Gevaert. Histoire de la peinture flamande des origines à la fin du XVe siècle. Vol. 2, Les continuateurs des Van Eyck. Paris, 1928, pp. 36–37, pl. 24, considers the Granada-New York triptych the original.

Malcolm Vaughan. "Rogier van der Weydens in America." International Studio 90 (July 1928), pp. 41–42, calls a painting of this subject in the Duveen collection [now National Gallery, Washington] a late work by Rogier.

Franz Dülberg. Niederländische Malerei der Spätgotik und Renaissance. Potsdam, 1929, pp. 44–45, considers it possible that the Granada-New York "original" was painted before 1431.

Emile Renders. "L'énigme du Maître de Flémalle." Revue d'art 30 (January–June 1929), p. 196, ascribes the Granada-New York altarpiece to Rogier immediately after 1440.

Jules Destrée. Roger de la Pasture—van der Weyden. Paris, 1930, vol. 1, pp. 94–98, 199; vol. 2, pl. 15, considers the Granada-New York triptych to be the original by Rogier presented by Juan II to the convent of Miraflores, observing that it is unclear where the Berlin copy came from; ascribes the painting of Christ Appearing to his Mother [now National Gallery, Washington] to a follower of Rogier.

E. Michel. "Rogier van der Weyden et le Maître de Flémalle." Revue de l'art ancien et moderne 57 (January–May 1930), p. 274, dates the Granada-New York triptych before the Werl altarpiece of 1438 and ascribes it to Rogier.

Ottmar Kerber. "Robert Campin und Rogier van der Weyden." Kritische Berichte zur Kunstgeschichtlichen Literatur 3–4 (1930–32), pp. 241–42, 244.

Emile Renders. La Solution du problème Van der Weyden-Flémalle-Campin. Bruges, 1931, vol. 1, pp. 34–35; vol. 2, pp. 74–75, pls. 45C, 46 (overall and detail), attributes the Werl wing with Saint John the Baptist to Rogier and believes that the pose of Christ in our panel is based on it rather than vice versa.

Antonio Gallego y Burín. La Capilla Real de Granada. Granada, 1931, pp. 123–26 [2nd ed., 1952, pp. 93–95].

Paul Rolland. Les primitifs Tournaisiens, peintres & sculpteurs. Brussels, 1932, p. 96.

Karl von Tolnai. "Zur Herkunft des Stiles der van Eyck." Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, n.s., 9 (1932), p. 337, believes the pose of Christ in our panel was copied from the figure of John the Baptist in the Werl wing of 1438; dates our painting later than 1438 but earlier than the Prado Deposition which he places in 1440.

Alan Burroughs. "Campin and Van der Weyden Again." Metropolitan Museum Studies 4 (1932–33), pp. 131–34, 138–40, 142, 148, figs. 1, 5 (shadowgraph), dates our panel "probably before 1431 or even 1427".

Chandler Rathfon Post. A History of Spanish Painting. Vol. 4, The Hispano-Flemish Style in Northwestern Spain. Cambridge, Mass., 1933, part 1, pp. 23–25, calls the Granada-New York triptych the original, and possibly the one given by Juan II to the Convent of Miraflores.

K. Smits. De iconografie van de Nederlandsche primitieven. Amsterdam, 1933, pp. 122–23, discusses various representations of Christ Appearing to the Virgin.

Leo van Puyvelde. "Les primitifs flamands à l'exposition de Bruxelles." Revue belge d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'art 5 (1935), p. 312, calls the Berlin and Granada triptychs replicas of equal quality.

Leo van Puyvelde. "Die Flämische Kunst auf der Ausstellung zu Brüssel." Pantheon 16 (July–December 1935), p. 323.

J[acques]. Lavalleye in "De vlaamsche schilderkunst tot ongeveer 1480." Geschiedenis van de vlaamsche kunst. Ed. Stan Leurs. Antwerp, 1936, p. 194.

Max J. Friedländer. Die altniederländische Malerei. Vol. 14, Pieter Bruegel und Nachträge zu den früheren Bänden. Leiden, 1937, p. 84, follows Renders in rejecting the connection of the figure of Christ in our panel with that of John the Baptist in the Werl wing as a basis for dating the Granada-New York triptych, and observes that the gesture of the hand is the same in the Saint Veronica from the abbey of Flémalle (now in the Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt); dates the Granada-New York altarpiece between 1440 and 1445.

Alan Burroughs. Art Criticism from a Laboratory. Boston, 1938, pp. 213–14, 224–34, 239, 255–60, dates the Granada-New York altar before Campin's Werl wing of 1438.

Wolfgang Schöne. Dieric Bouts und seine Schule. Berlin, 1938, p. 60, calls the Granada-New York triptych the original and dates it probably before 1438.

Erich Fidder. Von der Form Roger van der Weydens. [Köslin, Germany], 1938, pp. 67, 69, 119–28, calls the Granada-New York triptych Rogier's original.

Charles de Tolnay. Le Maître de Flémalle et les frères van Eyck. Brussels, 1939, pp. 43–44, erroneously calls our panel "Christ Appearing to the Magdalen," and sees the Granada-New York altarpiece as the work of a "débutant".

Jacques Lavalleye. L'art en Belgique du moyen age à nos jours. Ed. Paul Fierens. Brussels, 1939, p. 118.

Duveen Pictures in Public Collections of America. New York, 1941, unpaginated, no. 168, ill.

Friedrich Winkler. "Flémalle-Meister-Dämmerung?" Pantheon 7 (July 1941), p. 151, includes the Granada-New York triptych in a group of works which he dates between 1438 and 1445.

Charles de Tolnay. "Flemish Paintings in the National Gallery of Art." Magazine of Art 34 (April 1941), p. 185, ill., mentions our panel in connection with the painting of the same subject in Washington, which he ascribes to Vrancke van der Stockt.

F. Winkler in Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler. Ed. Hans Vollmer. Vol. 35, Leipzig, 1942, p. 472.

Martin Davies. National Gallery Catalogues: Early Netherlandish School. London, 1945, pp. 115–16 n. 2, calls a painting of this subject by a follower of Rogier (National Gallery, London) "a weak reminiscence" of our panel and mentions a similar painting ascribed to the Ursula Master (MMA 32.100.63b), also inspired by Rogier's composition.

Harry B. Wehle and Margaretta Salinger. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Catalogue of Early Flemish, Dutch and German Paintings. New York, 1947, pp. 30–34, ill., believe that Rogier adapted the figure of Christ in this composition from Campin's John the Baptist in the 1438 Werl wing (Prado, Madrid) and cite Friedländer's dating of the MMA picture between 1440 and 1445.

Ernest Lotthé. La pensée chrétienne dans la peinture flamande et hollandaise. Lille, 1947, vol. 2, pp. 271, 341, 345, no. 647.

Leo van Puyvelde. The Flemish Primitives. Brussels, 1948, p. 26, mentions the Granada-New York triptych first and calls the Berlin altarpiece a replica; erroneously adds that there is also a replica in the Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt.

Theodor Musper. Untersuchungen zu Rogier van der Weyden und Jan van Eyck. Stuttgart, 1948, pp. 32, 52–53, 59, pl. 75 (detail), calls the Granada-New York triptych the original and the Berlin altarpiece a copy; places both triptychs only shortly after 1445.

Francisco Javier Sánchez Cantón. Libros, tapices y cuadros que coleccionó Isabel la Católica. Madrid, 1950, pp. 177–79, transcribes from Folio 70, Leg.º 178 of the Simancas Archives the list of altarpieces and "objects of devotion" that were brought to Granada at Isabella's request in 1505, including the triptych by Rogier: "otro Retablo de tres pieças que en la denmedio esta nuestra señora de la piedad e en la otra el nascimiento e en la otra como apareçio nuestro señor a nuestra señora . . .".

Hermann Beenken. Rogier van der Weyden. Munich, 1951, pp. 41–43, 47, 50–51, 55–56, pl. 33, ascribes the Granada-New York altarpiece to Rogier, shortly before or in 1438, and calls the Berlin triptych a somewhat later copy, not from the Master's hand.

Art Treasures of the Metropolitan: A Selection from the European and Asiatic Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1952, p. 226, no. 96, ill.

Ludwig Baldass. Jan van Eyck. New York, 1952, p. 89 n. 1, believes that Rogier copied the gesture of Christ in our painting from the figure of John the Baptist in Campin's Werl wing.

J. V. L. Brans. Isabel la Católica y el arte hispano-flamenco. Madrid, 1952, pp. 40, 106 n. 11, calls the Granada-New York version the original, mistakenly calling our picture its central panel.

Margaretta Salinger. "Notes on the Cover." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 10 (April 1952), opp. p. 217, ill. in color on cover.

Leo van Puyvelde. "Ouvrages–Werken: Hermann Beenken, Rogier van der Weyden, 1951." Revue belge d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'art 21, no. 1 (1952), p. 76, finds Beenken too severe in eliminating the Miraflores triptych from Rogier's oeuvre, noting that at the time the best artists did not hesitate to duplicate earlier compositions.

Germain Bazin. "La notion d'intérieur dans l'art néerlandais." Gazette des beaux-arts, 6th ser., 39 (1952), p. 20, fig. 10.

Erwin Panofsky. Early Netherlandish Painting: Its Origins and Character. Cambridge, Mass., 1953, vol. 1, pp. 259–60, 262–64, 279, 315, 349, 460–61 n. 3 (to p. 259), nn. 1–2 (to p. 260), p. 463 nn. 1–11 (to p. 263); vol. 2, pl. 183, believes the Granada and Miraflores altarpieces were both produced in Rogier's workshop between 1437 and 1438, although the Miraflores (Berlin) triptych must have been the second "edition"; transcribes and completes the inscriptions on banderoles held by angels and gives their sources; observes that the "rare" subject of Christ Appearing to His Mother may have been suggested by the patron, since it appears in a number of 14th-century Spanish altarpieces; identifies the figure with a lion on the column capital at the right as Samson rather than Daniel [see Ref. Wehle and Salinger 1947].

Leo van Puyvelde. La peinture flamande au siècle des van Eyck. Paris, 1953, p. 140, attributes the Berlin triptych to Rogier before 1431 and considers the Granada-New York triptych to be a later work of his at a time when his palette was lighter.

Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 85.

Julius S. Held. "Erwin Panofsky, 'Early Netherlandish Painting, Its Origin[s] and Character'." Art Bulletin 37 (September 1955), pp. 227–28, calls the Berlin altarpiece blatantly inferior in craftsmanship to the Granada-New York triptych, noting that Rogier surely had no hand in the execution of the Berlin work.

Ruth Massey Tovell. Roger van der Weyden and the Flémalle Enigma. Toronto, 1955, pp. 26, 37, 58 n. 3, ill. opp. p. 26, calls the Granada-New York triptych the original and the Berlin altarpiece an excellent replica; dates our panel after the Werl wing of 1438, which she ascribes to Rogier rather than Campin.

Valentin Denis. Thierry Bouts. Brussels, 1957, p. 10, dates the Granada-New York triptych about 1430, noting that Bouts and Christus were influenced by Rogier's use of the architectural framing device.

Josua Bruyn. Van Eyck problemen. Utrecht, 1957, pp. 4, 107, 115 n. 1, p. 124.

James D. Breckenridge. "'Et prima vidit': The Iconography of the Appearance of Christ to His Mother." Art Bulletin 39 (March 1957), pp. 9, 22–25, ill.

Groeninge Museum. L'art flamand dans les collections espagnoles. Exh. cat., Groeninge Museum. Bruges, 1958, pp. 24–25.

F. Baudouin. "De kroning van Maria door de h. drieëenheid in de vijftiende-eeuwse schilderkunst der Nederlanden." Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts Bulletin 8, nos. 1–4 (1959), pp. 190–93, 200, 218, 227, 229, figs. 10–11 (overall and detail), believes that Dieric Bouts's painting, "The Coronation of the Virgin," (Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Vienna) is based on the same lost prototype as the grisaille of the Coronation on the archivolt of our panel; suggests that the prototype was the creation of the Master of Flémalle.

Erik Larsen. Les primitifs flamands au Musée Metropolitain de New York. Utrecht, 1960, pp. 53–55, 112–13, fig. 8, dates it 1430–35; considers it superior to the Berlin panel of the same subject.

R. H. Wilenski. Flemish Painters, 1430–1830. New York, 1960, vol. 1, pp. 12, 16, 18, 31–32, 73, 113; vol. 2, pls. 33, 47 (overall and detail).

Johannes Taubert. "Die Beiden Marienaltäre des Rogier van der Weyden." Pantheon 18 (March 1960), pp. 67–75, ill., believes that the Berlin "Christ Appearing to the Virgin" is the only panel of the Granada-New York and Berlin triptychs that can be attributed to Rogier; calls the two other Berlin panels Hispano-Flemish copies after lost originals; considers the Granada-New York triptych the work of a superior copyist from the end of the 15th century, based on the panels in Berlin.

Karl M. Birkmeyer. "The Arch Motif in Netherlandish Painting of the Fifteenth Century, part 1." Art Bulletin 43 (March 1961), pp. 1–20, ill., discusses the sources of the arch motif as used by Rogier in the Mary Altar, and the subsequent use of this motif by his followers.

Karl M. Birkmeyer. "The Arch Motif in Netherlandish Painting of the Fifteenth Century: A Study in Changing Religious Imagery, part 2." Art Bulletin 43 (April 1961), pp. 99–112.

Paul Philippot. "La fin du XVème siècle et les origines d'une nouvelle conception de l'image dans la peinture des Pays-Bas." Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts Bulletin 11 (March–June 1962), pp. 8, 21.

Jacqueline Folie. "Les oeuvres authentifiées des primitifs flamands." Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique Bulletin 6 (1963), pp. 211–12.

Roger van Schoute. La Chapelle Royale de Grenade: Les primitifs flamands, I: Corpus de la peinture des anciens pays-bas méridionaux au quinzième siècle, vol. 6. Brussels, 1963, pp. 87–109, pl. 189 (Granada-New York triptych), catalogues the Nativity and Pietà in Granada, accepting them as originals, and gives extensive bibliography.

Colin Eisler. "Erik Larsen, Les primitifs flamands au Musée Metropolitain de New York, 1960." Art Bulletin 46 (March 1964), pp. 102–3, agrees with Larsen that the MMA Christ Appearing is superior to the Berlin version.

Mojmír S. Frinta. The Genius of Robert Campin. The Hague, 1966, pp. 72, 84, 119–20.

Max J. Friedländer et al. Early Netherlandish Painting. Vol. 2, Rogier van der Weyden and the Master of Flémalle. New York, 1967, pp. 13, 45–46, 55, 60 n. 1, p. 97, pls. 1–2 (the triptych and our panel).

Leo van Puyvelde. "La genèse de la forme artistique chez Rogier van der Weyden." Stil und Überlieferung in der Kunst des Abendlandes: Akten des 21. Internationalen Kongresses für Kunstgeschichte in Bonn 1964. Berlin, 1967, vol. 1, p. 55, considers the Berlin altarpiece Rogier's original, dating it before 1431, when he was still apprenticed to Campin; calls the Granada-New York triptych a replica of higher quality, suggesting that it was painted later by Rogier in a smoother style and with a lighter palette.

Charles D. Cuttler. Northern Painting from Pucelle to Bruegel. New York, 1968, pp. 114–15, ill., dates the Granada-New York triptych about 1440–44, calling it the original Mary Altarpiece and the Berlin version a contemporary workshop copy.

Margaret Whinney. Early Flemish Painting. New York, 1968, pp. 60–61, 149 n. 4, observes that neither of the two altarpieces is "apparently entirely by Rogier himself".

Micheline Sonkes. Dessins du XVe siècle: groupe van der Weyden. Brussels, 1969, pp. 25, 143, 289, considers the Granada-New York triptych the original and calls the Berlin altarpiece a faithful replica.

Micheline Sonkes. "Le dessin sous-jacent chez les primitifs flamands." Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique Bulletin 12 (1970), pp. 202, 205–6, notes that the underdrawing in the Granada-New York triptych is purely linear, and that it reveals numerous corrections in the details, but no important structural changes; observes that the style of the drawing is unified throughout the three panels and comparable to underdrawing found in the Virgin and Child with Saints Cosmos and Damien (Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt) and the Virgin and Child in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Caen, both generally ascribed to Rogier.

Micheline Sonkes. "Le dessin sous-jacent chez Roger van der Weyden et le problème de la personnalité du Maître de Flémalle." Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique Bulletin 13 (1971/72), pp. 161–67, 172, 179, 202–3, notes that the underdrawing in the Berlin triptych does not reveal to the same degree as that in the Granada-New York panels the work of the "artiste créateur," and that it seems to be of lesser quality, observing that if the Berlin triptych is the work of a single artist, it is not the same one that conceived and without doubt executed the Granada-New York panels; calls the Berlin triptych apparently a copy of the Granada-New York panels with inexplicable variations in its underdrawing in relation to the original.

Anne Markham Schulz. "The Columba Altarpiece and Roger van der Weyden's Stylistic Development." Münchner Jahrbuch der Bildenden Kunst, 3rd ser., 22 (1971), pp. 72, 80–82, 95–96, 111 n. 48, p. 112 n. 57.

Martin Davies. Rogier van der Weyden: An Essay, with a Critical Catalogue of Paintings Assigned to Him and to Robert Campin. London, 1972, pp. 16–18, 200, 213–16, 230, pl. 15, considers the Granada-New York triptych the original and the Berlin altarpiece a good, very exact old version; dates the former after the Prado Deposition, which he places no later than 1443, and observes that any connection in the pose of John the Baptist in Campin's 1428 Werl wing and the figure of Christ in our panel is not a good basis for dating the Granada-New York triptych, since both figures may have been based on an earlier source that has not survived.

Peter H. Schabacker. "Martin Davies, Rogier van der Weyden." Art Quarterly 35, no. 4 (1972), pp. 422, 424.

Josua Bruyn. "The Literature of Art: A New Monograph on Rogier [Review of Martin Davies, Rogier van der Weyden . . ., 1972]." Burlington Magazine 116 (September 1974), p. 540, dates the Granada-New York triptych before 1438.

Jacques Lavalleye in An Illustrated Inventory of Famous Dismembered Works of Art: European Painting. Paris, 1974, pp. 53–54, 58–59, ill.

Ottmar Kerber. "Rogier van der Weyden." Giessener Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte 3 (1975), pp. 33, 36, 38.

James Douglas Farquhar. "Martin Davies, Rogier van der Weyden." Art Journal 35, no. 2 (Winter 1975–76), p. 182, notes that a gesture similar to that of Christ in our panel and John the Baptist in the Werl wing is found in Campin's Saint Veronica, which is generally thought to predate both paintings.

Rainald Grosshans. "Early Netherlandish Painting: Notes on the History of the Collection [Gemäldegalerie, Berlin]." Apollo 102 (December 1975), p. 427, observes that the Berlin triptych is generally regarded as an excellent repetition of Rogier's Granada-New York altarpiece.

V. Denis. La peinture flamande 15e–16e–17e siècles. Brussels, 1976, p. 66, calls the Granada-New York altarpiece the original and the Berlin triptych an excellent copy.

Christine Hasenmueller McCorkel. "The Role of the Suspended Crown in Jan van Eyck's Madonna and Chancellor Rolin." Art Bulletin 58 (1976), pp. 518–19.

Anne Simonson Fuchs. "The Netherlands and Iberia. Studies in Netherlandish Painting for Spain: 1427–1455." PhD diss., University of California at Los Angeles, 1977, pp. 40–82, questions the tradition maintained by the cartuja of Miraflores that the altarpiece was a gift of Juan II from Pope Martin V, observing that the latter's 1431 death date would necessitate too early a date of execution for the triptych; suggests instead that it was more likely given to Juan by Eugenius IV; discusses the iconography of the two altarpieces in great detail and links their iconography with that of Rogier's "Saint John Altarpiece" (Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt); discusses the iconography in great depth.

Lorne Campbell. Van der Weyden. New York, 1977, pp. 6, 8, 38–39, ill., believes that the Granada-New York panels were "designed" by Rogier and that the Berlin altarpiece is a replica executed in his workshop.

Barbara G. Lane. "Rogier's Saint John and Miraflores Altarpieces Reconsidered." Art Bulletin 60 (December 1978), p. 655 n. 1, p. 672, using the Berlin triptych "for ease of comparison," discusses Rogier's Mary Altarpiece and Altarpiece of John the Baptist, stressing their iconographic similarities and observing that the former "conveys the meaning" of the Holy Eucharist and the latter, that of Baptism; believes that these triptychs were planned together, perhaps for side chapels in the same church, and that although they may not have been executed at the same time, there is no evidence for dating them as far apart as scholars generally do.

Robert Oertel and Hans-Joachim Eberhardt in Catalogue of Paintings, 13th–18th Century. 2nd, rev. ed. Berlin-Dahlem, 1978, pp. 484–85, observe that "recent scholarship considers this retable [the Berlin triptych] to be an altogether excellent, very exact, and probably nearly contemporary replica of the so-called Granada altarpiece".

Edwin Hall and Horst Uhr. "'Aureola' and 'Fructus': Distinctions of Beatitude in Scholastic Thought and the Meaning of Some Crowns in Early Flemish Painting." Art Bulletin 60 (June 1978), pp. 249, 254, 258–62, 264–65, interprets the crown held by an angel in each panel of the Granada/New York and Miraflores altarpieces as symbolic of Mary's triple "aureola" as virgin, martyr and doctor, and observes that in our panel her martyrdom through her son is stressed.

Catheline Périer-d'Ieteren in Rogier van der Weyden, Rogier de le Pasture: Official Painter of the City of Brussels, Portrait Painter of the Burgundian Court. Exh. cat., Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles, Maison du Roi. Brussels, 1979, pp. 144–45, no. 8y, ill. [not included in exhibition].

Howard Hibbard. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1980, pp. 184, 188, fig. 343.

Elisa Bermejo. La pintura de los primitivos flamencos en España. Vol. 1, Madrid, 1980, pp. 101–2, 165, fig. 57, notes that the Granada/New York triptych is almost unanimously ascribed to Rogier and considers a date about 1438 most likely.

Albert Châtelet. Early Dutch Painting: Painting in the Northern Netherlands in the Fifteenth Century. English ed. [French ed. 1980]. New York, 1981, p. 78.

Penny Howell Jolly. "Rogier van der Weyden's Escorial and Philadelphia 'Crucifixions' and Their Relation to Fra Angelico at San Marco." Oud-Holland 95, no. 3 (1981), pp. 114–15.

Rainald Grosshans. "Rogier van der Weyden: Der Marienaltar aus der Kartause Miraflores." Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen 23 (1981), pp. 49–112, pls. 14 (diagram of perspective scheme) and 22 (infrared photograph), notes that according to his perception of Rogier's iconographic program, red as the symbol of martyrdom and sacrifice is the correct color for the Virgin's robe in the Pietà [she wears red in the Berlin Pietà, but blue in the Pietà of the Granada-New York triptych]; comments on the authoritative and spontaneous drawing style, with hatchings to indicate shadows, and the greater number of significant changes visible in infrared reflectograms of the Berlin triptypch as compared with infrared photographs of the Granada-New York panels; notes that while the perspective in the Berlin panels is conceived intuitvely and without a system as is most often the case in works generally accepted as by Rogier, all three of the Granada-New York panels have a single whitish point that is visble in infrared examination, through which almost all vanishing lines of the composition pass; concludes that the Berlin panels were painted first by Rogier and the Granada-New York triptych was painted later by a follower.

Albert Châtelet. "Le retable de Miraflores." Le dessin sous-jacent dans la peinture. Ed. Dominique Hollanders-Favart and Roger van Schoute. Colloque 3, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1981, pp. 63–72, following Comblen-Sonkes [see Refs. 1971–72] concludes that the Granada-New York triptych is the first version, discusses the iconographic program of the two triptychs observing that it is possible that the Miraflores triptych or both triptychs could date from about 1428, as would have been the case if the Miraflores altarpiece were given to Juan II by Pope Martin V.

Molly Faries. "The Underdrawn Composition of Rogier van der Weyden's 'St. Luke Drawing a Portrait of the Virgin' in Boston." Le dessin sous-jacent dans la peinture. Ed. Dominique Hollanders-Favart and Roger van Schoute. Colloque 3, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1981, p. 95, 99 nn. 15–16.

Lucie Ninane. "Le problème Flémalle-van der Weyden, éléments pour l'histoire d'une controverse." Le dessin sous-jacent dans la peinture. Ed. Dominique Hollanders-Favart and Roger van Schoute. Colloque 3, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1981, p. 27.

Elisabeth Dhanens. "Van der Weyden. By Lorne Campbell [review of Campbell 1977]." Burlington Magazine 124 (1982), p. 367, calls the Granada-New York triptych one of the three works that may reasonably be attributed to Rogier "on grounds of tradition" and refers to the Berlin triptych as a replica.

Rainald Grosshans. "Infrarotuntersuchungen zum Studium der Unterzeichnung auf den Berliner Altären von Rogier van der Weyden." Jahrbuch Preußischer Kulturbesitz 19 (1982), pp. 140, 150–52, 175 n. 12, refers to the Granada-New York triptych as a good copy of the Berlin altarpiece.

H. Mund. "Approche d'une terminologie relative à l'étude de la copie." Annales d'histoire de l'art et d'archéologie 5 (1983), pp. 23, 25, observes that Grosshans (see Ref. 1981) established that the Berlin triptych is the original from Rogier's hand.

Liana Castelfranchi Vegas. Italie et Flandres dans la peinture du XVe siècle. Milan, 1984, pp. 67–68 [Italian ed., 1983].

Lorne Campbell. Letter to Katharine Baetjer. March 5, 1984, observes that the Grosshans article [see Refs. 1981] shows beyond doubt that the Miraflores altarpiece is the original and the Granada-New York altarpiece a copy, adding that "the note in the file that the ground is not chalk should have alerted me earlier"; notes that the copyist was obviously extraordinarily skillful, and suggests Juan de Flandes and Michiel Sittow as "the obvious candidates".

James Snyder. Northern Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, the Graphic Arts from 1350 to 1575. New York, 1985, p. 127, states that this work and the version in Berlin "are so close in style that one can conclude that they are both excellent workshop productions, replicas for two different patrons".

James Snyder. "'The Joyous Appearance of Christ with a Multitude of Angels and Holy Fathers to His Dearest Mother': A Mystical Devotional Diptych by Jan Mostaert." Tribute to Lotte Brand Philip: Art Historian and Detective. Ed. William W. Clark et al. New York, 1985, pp. 178–79, ill., cites it as the one familiar representation of a subject otherwise rarely depicted in northern European painting.

Introduction by James Snyder in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Renaissance in the North. New York, 1987, pp. 9, 24–25, ill. (color).

Peter Klein. "Dendrochronological Studies on Oak Panels of Rogier van der Weyden and His Circle." Le dessin sous-jacent dans la peinture. Ed. Roger van Schoute and Hélène Verougstraete. Colloque 7, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1989, pp. 28, 33–35, postulates a presumed date of painting for this panel of 1494, or ten years after the 1484 felling date of the tree, and a presumed date of painting for the Berlin triptych of 1437; concludes that it is impossible that our painting could be by Rogier, and adds that analysis of the two Granada panels might reveal an even later felling date.

J. R. J. van Asperen de Boer, J[eltje]. Dijkstra, and R[oger]. van Schoute, with the assistance of C. M. A. Dalderup, and Jan Piet Filedt Kok. "Underdrawing in Paintings of the Rogier van der Weyden and Master of Flémalle Groups." Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 41 (1990), pp. 237, 243–49, figs. 295, 302–3 (overall, detail, and infrared reflectogram assembly of detail), attribute the underdrawing in the Miraflores altarpiece to Rogier himself, except perhaps for the architecture, observing that Rogier would probably have done much of the first underpainting but was not necessarily responsible for all the remaining paint layers; add that other hands in the workshop may have been involved in the actual painting but that "it was virtually impossible that any such hands" were involved in both triptychs; note that the underdrawing in the Granada-New York triptych is linear and two dimensional, and that on the basis of dendrochronolgical findings (see Ref. Klein 1989) the panels must be copies, almost certainly executed after the surface of the Miraflores altarpieces and not from drawings; find it plausible that the Granada-New York copy was commissioned by Isabel of Castile in honor of her father, and observe that this would fit with the probable creation date of 1484 or shortly thereafter, and the calcium sulphate ground (used south of the Alps) of our picture.

Jeltje Dijkstra. "Origineel en Kopie: Een Onderzoek naar de Navolging van de Meester van Flémalle en Rogier van der Weyden." PhD diss., Universiteit van Amsterdam, 1990, pp. 78–86, 95–109, 137, 188, 190–92, 234 n. 309, p. 242 no. 397, pp. 270–71, 294, observes that "it can be established without reasonable doubt [sic] . . . that this work was directly based on the original and was therefore made in Spain, presumably either by a Southern Netherlandish painter or one who was trained in that country"; concludes that Michel Sittow, who worked for Isabel between 1480 and 1504 is "the most likely candidate for the authorship of the copy".

Janey L. Levy. "The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: Ecclesiastical Authority and Hierarchy in the Beaune Altarpiece." Art History 14 (March 1991), pp. 22–23, ill.

Peter Klein. "The Differentiation of Originals and Copies of Netherlandish Panel Paintings by Dendrochronology." Le dessin sous-jacent dans la peinture. Ed. Hélène Verougstraete-Marcq and Roger van Schoute. Colloque 8, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1991, pp. 34–35, based on dendrochronological analysis for this panel records a presumed date [of execution] of 1484 for the "St. Mary Altar" [Granada-New York triptych], confirming Grosshans's 1981 identification of these panels as copies.

Jellie Dijkstra. "Methods for the Copying of Paintings in the Southern Netherlands in the 15th and Early 16th Centuries." Le dessin sous-jacent dans la peinture. Ed. Hélène Verougstraete-Marcq and Roger van Schoute. Colloque 8, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1991, pp. 69–70, 72, 74 n. 8, p. 75 n. 12, pl. 39a (detail of the figure of Christ, infrared reflectogram assembly).

Introduction by Walter A. Liedtke in Flemish Paintings in America: A Survey of Early Netherlandish and Flemish Paintings in the Public Collections of North America. Antwerp, 1992, p. 375, no. 496, ill.

Peter Klein. Letter to Maryan Ainsworth. December 22, 1992, notes that two of the surviving paintings from Juan de Flandes's John the Baptist altarpiece, "The Beheading of John the Baptist" (Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva) and "The Banquet of Herodias" (Museum Mayer van den Bergh, Antwerp) are exectued on panels that come from the same tree as those used for the New York-Granada Mary altarpiece.

Maryan W. Ainsworth. "Implications of Revised Attributions in Netherlandish Painting." Metropolitan Museum Journal 27 (1992), pp. 59, 62–65, 68, 74–75 nn. 3–9, 11, 13–15, 17, figs. 1, 7, 9, 11 (overall and details), calls the Granada-New York triptych a copy by a very talented artist, who remains anonymous, after Rogier's own version in Berlin; comments in detail on differences between the two versions of "Christ Appearing to His Mother".

Catheline Périer-d'Ieteren et al. in "Apport des méthodes d'investigation scientifique á l'étude de deux peintures attribuées a Juan de Flandes." Genava, n.s., 41 (1993), pp. 107, 116, 117 nn. 7, 14, concludes on the basis of Klein's 1992 dendrochronological findings (see Ref. 1992) that the support for the Granada-New York altarpiece and Juan de Flandes's Feast of Herod were made at approximately the same moment, in a workshop for painters in the service of Isabella the Catholic, probably that of Juan de Flandes, perhaps shared with Michel Sittow.

Jochen Sander. Niederländische Gemälde im Städel, 1400–1550. Mainz, 1993, pp. 347, 349–50, ill., discusses the unresolved questions relating to high quality replicas of Rogier's work made after his death, including the Granada-New York panels.

Paul Philippot. La peinture dans les anciens pays-bas, XVe–XVIe siècles. Paris, 1994, pp. 93–94.

Hans Belting and Christiane Kruse. Die Erfindung des Gemäldes: Das erste Jahrhundert der niederländischen Malerei. Munich, 1994, pp. 84, 180–81, ill.

Hélène Mund in Les primitifs flamands et leur temps. Ed. Brigitte de Patoul and Roger van Schoute. Louvain-la-Neuve, 1994, pp. 126–27, ill.

Paul Jeromack. "New Light on Old Masters." Art & Antiques 17, no. 5 (1994), pp. 74–75.

Jochen Sander. "Die Entdeckung der Kunst": Niederländische Kunst des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts in Frankfurt. Exh. cat., Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt. Mainz, 1995, pp. 133–34, ill., discusses in general the issue of copies in early Netherlandish painting.

Molly Faries. "Discussion." Petrus Christus in Renaissance Bruges: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Ed. Maryan W. Ainsworth. New York, 1995, pp. 145, 207.

Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 247, ill.

Albert Châtelet. Robert Campin, Le Maître de Flémalle: La fascination du quotidien. Antwerp, 1996, p. 324.

Cyriel Stroo and Pascale Syfer-d'Olne. The Flemish Primitives: Catalogue of Early Netherlandish Painting in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. Ed. Elizabeth Moodey and Stanton Thomas. Vol. 1, The Master of Flémalle and Rogier van der Weyden Groups. Brussels, 1996, pp. 106, 112 n. 24.

Lorne Campbell in The Dictionary of Art. Ed. Jane Turner. New York, 1996, p. 118, refers to the Granada-New York triptych as "painted in Spain probably for Isabella and possibly by one of her court painters trained in the Netherlands".

Matthias Weniger. "'Bynnen Brugge in Flandern': The Apprenticeships of Michel Sittow and Juan de Flandes." Memling Studies: Proceedings of the International Colloquium (Bruges, 10–12 November 1994). Ed. Hélène Verougstraete, Roger van Schoute, and Maurits Smeyers. Louvain, 1997, pp. 129–30, observes that the Granada-New York copy "lacks the quality of Juan's paint application," and that "a similar coarseness characterizes the two Granada panels of the Deposition from the Cross," usually ascribed to Memling but recently withdrawn from his oeuvre by Périer-d'Ieteren [see Périer-d'Ieteren et al. 1993 in TMS bibliography].

Otto Pächt. Early Netherlandish Painting from Rogier van der Weyden to Gerard David. Ed. Monika Rosenauer. London, 1997, p. 254 n. 18, the editor notes that he has replaced the Granada-New York triptych, discussed by Pächt in his notes as the primary version, with the Berlin altarpiece, now generally accepted as Rogier's original.

Maryan W. Ainsworth. "A Meeting of Sacred and Secular Worlds." From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Maryan W. Ainsworth and Keith Christiansen. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1998, pp. 18–19, 26, 68, 81, 124, 210–11, 216–19, 222, no. 46, ill. (color), catalogues it as a copy after Rogier van der Weyden (possibly by Juan de Flandes or Michel Sittow), leaning more toward Juan, and suggests that it was commissioned by Isabella the Catholic at about the time her mother, Isabella of Portugal, died, in 1496.

Maryan W. Ainsworth. Gerard David: Purity of Vision in an Age of Transition. New York, 1998, p. 204 n. 111.

John Oliver Hand. "New York. From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Burlington Magazine 140 (December 1998), p. 856.

Maurits Smeyers in Dirk Bouts (ca. 1410–1475): Een Vlaams primitief te Leuven. Ed. Maurits Smeyers. Exh. cat., Sint-Pieterskerk en Predikherenkerk, Leuven. Louvain, 1998.

Hélène Mund in Dirk Bouts (ca. 1410–1475): Een Vlaams primitief te Leuven. Ed. Maurits Smeyers. Exh. cat., Sint-Pieterskerk en Predikherenkerk, Leuven. Louvain, 1998, pp. 179 n. 20, 235, 242, 441, ascribes it to a Hispano-Flemish artist working at the end of the 15th century.

Larry Silver. "Old-Time Religion: Bernart van Orley and the Devotional Tradition." Pantheon 56 (1998), pp. 75–76, fig. 2.

Catheline Périer-d'Ieteren. "Le retable de la vierge de la Capilla Real de Grenade et les peintres d'Isablle de Castille." Revue belge d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'art 67 (1998), pp. 3–26, ill. (color), suggests that the New York-Grenada altarpiece was a collaborative effort of Juan de Flandes and Michel Sittow working in Burgos for Isabella of Castille.

Dirk De Vos. Rogier van der Weyden: The Complete Works. New York, 1999, p. 231, ill. (color).

Albert Châtelet. Rogier van der Weyden: Problèmes de la vie et de l'oeuvre. Strasbourg, 1999, p. 89.

Elisabeth Dhanens and Jellie Dijkstra. Rogier de le Pasture van der Weyden: Introduction à l'oeuvre, relecture des sources. Tournai, 1999, pp. 18–20, ill. (color).

Didier Martens. "Identification du "Tableau de l'Adoration des Mages" flamand, anciennement à la chartreuse de Miraflores." Annales d'histoire de l'art et d'archéologie 22 (2000), p. 63.

Philippe Lorentz and Micheline Comblen-Sonkes. Musée du Louvre, Paris. III [Les primitifs flamandes, I: Corpus de la peinture des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux et de la principauté de Liège au quinzième siècle, vol. 19]. Brussels, 2001, text vol., p. 3.

Victoria S. Reed. "Rogier van der Weyden's 'Saint John Triptych' for Miraflores and a Reconsideration of Salome." Oud Holland 115, no. 1 (2001–2002), pp. 9–10 n. 1.

Maryan W. Ainsworth. "Commentary: An Integrated Approach." Early Netherlandish Painting at the Crossroads: A Critical Look at Current Methodologies. Ed. Maryan W. Ainsworth. New York, 2001, pp. 110–13, colorpls. 12–13 (overall and details) and fig. 40 (detail), compares a detail of shrubbery in our picture with the same detail in the Berlin panel, commenting on Rogier's schematic arc-shaped strokes in the latter work vs. the handling, in our picture, of a later artist, "informed by the firsthand observation of nature"; finds in Juan de Flandes "The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist" (Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva) similarly handled shrubbery sprouting from the walls behind the executioner.

Molly Faries. "Reshaping the Field: The Contribution of Technical Studies." Early Netherlandish Painting at the Crossroads: A Critical Look at Current Methodologies. Ed. Maryan W. Ainsworth. New York, 2001, pp. 92, 96.

Ariane Mensger. Jan Gossaert: Die niederländische Kunst zu Beginn der Neuzeit. Berlin, 2002, p. 33.

Martha Hollander. An Entrance for the Eyes: Space and Meaning in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art. Berkeley, 2002, pp. 24–25, 33, 35, 54, 76, 82, 159, 206 n. 43, fig. 7.

Maryan W. Ainsworth. Recent Developments in the Technical Examination of Early Netherlandish Painting: Methodology, Limitations & Perspectives. Ed. Molly Faries and Ron Spronk. Cambridge, Mass., 2003, pp. 138–40, 147 n. 8, ill.

Meryle Secrest. Duveen: A Life in Art. New York, 2004, p. 500.

Lorne Campbell. Van der Weyden. London, 2004, pp. 9, 45–47, no. 15, ill., suggests that "Juan II was the original owner of the Granada altarpiece, which would ultimately have been inherited by his daughter Isabella, and [that he] commissioned a replica from Van der Weyden to give to Miraflores"; believes the Granada-New York panels were designed by Rogier and that the Miraflores altarpiece, now in Berlin, is a replica executed in his shop.

Jeltje Dijkstra. "Technical Examination." Early Netherlandish Paintings: Rediscovery, Reception and Research. Ed. Berhard Ridderbos et al. English ed. Amsterdam, 2005, p. 298, fig. 131[Dutch ed., "'Om iets te weten van de oude meesters'. De Vlaamse Primitieven—herontdekking, waardering en onderzoek," Nijmegen, 1995].

Pilar Silva Maroto. Juan de Flandes. Salamanca, 2006.

Maryan W. Ainsworth. "Juan de Flandes, Chameleon Painter." Invention: Northern Renaissance Studies in Honor of Molly Faries. Ed. Julien Chapuis. Turnhout, Belgium, 2008, pp. 105, 117, 119, 121–23 nn. 27, 30, 38, colorpl. 19, figs. 1, 12 (infrared photograph detail), 14 (x-radiograph detail), 15, 16 (infrared reflectogram assembly details), and 19 (detail).

Jochen Sander in The Master of Flémalle and Rogier van der Weyden. Ed. Stephan Kemperdick and Jochen Sander. Exh. cat., Städel Museum, Frankfurt. Ostfildern, 2009, pp. 79, 81–82, 171 n. 34 [German ed., "Der Meister von Flémalle und Rogier van der Weyden," Ostfildern, 2008], suggests that the artist who produced the replica of the Saint John Altarpiece (Städel Museum, Frankfurt) could also have belonged to the circle of Juan de Flandes.

Stephan Kemperdick in The Master of Flémalle and Rogier van der Weyden. Ed. Stephan Kemperdick and Jochen Sander. Exh. cat., Städel Museum, Frankfurt. Ostfildern, 2009, pp. 319–20, 325, no. 30, ill. p. 327 (color) [German ed., "Der Meister von Flémalle und Rogier van der Weyden," Ostfildern, 2008], attributes it to Juan de Flandes or Michel Sittow, noting that "the copy follows the original so closely that it is difficult to distinguish the hands of the possible painters involved".

Peter Klein. "Dendrochronological Analysis of Panel Paintings Belonging to the Master of Flémalle and Rogier van der Weyden Groups." The Master of Flémalle and Rogier van der Weyden. Ed. Stephan Kemperdick and Jochen Sander. Exh. cat., Städel Museum, Frankfurt. Ostfildern, 2009, p. 167 [German ed., "Der Meister von Flémalle und Rogier van der Weyden," Ostfildern, 2008], gives the probable date of painting as 1490/1498; notes that both boards here, the left wing and central panel in Granada, as well as Juan's Herod's Banquet [Museum Mayer van den Bergh] and Birth of Saint John [Cleveland Museum of Art] are from the same tree.

Mojmír Frinta. "Observation on Michel Sittow." Artibus et Historiae no. 60 (2009), p. 146.

Matthias Weniger. Sittow, Morros, Juan de Flandes: Drei Maler aus dem Norden am Hof Isabellas der Katholischen. Kiel, 2011, pp. 70–72, no. Sittow 1.3.

Pilar Silva Maroto in Rogier van der Weyden and the Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. Ed. Lorne Campbell. Exh. cat., Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid, 2015, pp. 148–52, no. 15, ill. (color).

Stephan Kemperdick in Rogier van der Weyden and the Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. Ed. Lorne Campbell. Exh. cat., Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid, 2015, p. 97, under no. 3.

Lorne Campbell in Rogier van der Weyden and the Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. Ed. Lorne Campbell. Exh. cat., Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid, 2015, pp. 43, 50.

Larry Silver. "Eyckian Icons and Copies." Making Copies in European Art 1400–1600: Shifting Tastes, Modes of Transmission, and Changing Contexts. Ed. Maddalena Bellavitis. Leiden, 2018, p. 143 n. 28.

This frame was made for the picture in 1998. Its design was based on the gold trompe-l’oeil frames of Rogier van der Weyden’s Seven Sacrament altarpiece in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp.

[Keith Christiansen 2020]