House Altarpiece
The predominance of female subjects suggests that this miniature altarpiece belonged to a woman. Saint Anne holds her diminutive daughter the Virgin Mary and her grandchild Jesus in the center; Saints Catherine and Barbara appear on the interior of the wings and Saints Ursula and Dorothy on the outside. The kneeling patroness occupies the place of honor to the right of the holy group. The man’s long shirt, imitating coarse animal hair, indicates that he was a member of a lay penitent order or perhaps both belonged to a lay confraternity devoted to the cult of Saint Anne. At the bottom is the image of the face of Jesus, which was believed to have been imprinted miraculously on the veil of Saint Veronica just prior to his Crucifixion. The painted surfaces are exceptionally well preserved.
Artwork Details
- Title: House Altarpiece
- Date: ca. 1490
- Geography: Made in Swabia, Germany
- Culture: German
- Medium: Oil and gold on wood; metal fixtures
- Dimensions: Overall (open): 13 3/16 × 11 7/8 × 2 15/16 in. (33.5 × 30.2 × 7.5 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture-Wood
- Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1991
- Object Number: 1991.10
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters
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German
before 1489
German
before 1489
German
before 1489
Lautenbach Master
Circle of Peter Hemmel von Andlau (Strassburger Werkstattgemeinschaft)
ca. 1480
German
1532
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