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Christ Blessing, Surrounded by a Donor Family

ca. 1573–82
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 612

Depicting a continuous scene across three panels, this family portrait adapts the conventions of the triptych altarpiece to the new demands of Protestant devotion. Both the painter and the sitters are unknown today, but the church spires that appear reflected on the orb in Christ’s hand associate them with the North German city of Hamburg. Christ’s presence amid this domestic gathering bespeaks a deeply Lutheran understanding of Christ’s direct accessibility to believers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Christ Blessing, Surrounded by a Donor Family
  • Artist: German Painter (probably active Hamburg and Lower Saxony, 1560s–80s)
  • Date: ca. 1573–82
  • Medium: Oil and gold on oak
  • Dimensions: Central panel 31 3/8 x 37 5/8 in. (79.7 x 95.6 cm); each wing 32 x 14 5/8 in. (81.3 x 37.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.13–15
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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