The central panel of this altarpiece represents the Nativity, flanked on the left by the annunciation of the Tiburtine Sibyl to the emperor Augustus, and on the right by the Annunciation to the Magi with a further scene in the background of the Magi bathing at Mount Victorial. The wings depict the Visitation and the Adoration of the Magi, looking on from above surrounded by angels, is God the Father. The announcement of Christ's coming to Augustus and to the Three Kings were events thought to have occurred at the moment of Christ's birth. This dual annunciation to the rulers of the West and East demonstrates the universal significance of the Incarnation and the Supremacy of Christ over all earthly realms. The center panel generally follows the composition of a triptych now in Berlin devoted to the same subjects and painted about 1445 by Rogier van der Weyden for Pierre Bladelin, treasurer to the Burgundian dukes. Two of the small outer wings were removed and are now in private collection.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Wings, upper exterior: The Expulsion of Adam and Eve
Wings, lower exterior: Saint John the Baptist, Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Artwork Details
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Title:The Nativity
Artist:Workshop of Rogier van der Weyden (Netherlandish, Tournai ca. 1399–1464 Brussels)
Date:mid-15th century
Geography:Made in Brussels, Belgium
Culture:South Netherlandish
Medium:Tempera and oil on wood
Dimensions:as displayed: 59 3/4 in. × 9 ft. × 17 1/2 in., 86 lb. (151.8 × 274.3 × 44.5 cm, 39 kg) wings closed: 59 3/4 × 80 7/8 × 4 1/4 in., 86 lb. (151.8 × 205.4 × 10.8 cm, 39 kg)
Classification:Paintings-Panels
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1949
Accession Number:49.109
Inscription: (center panel, on banderole of Tiburtine Sibyl): Cor Contritum non despicies […] (you will not look down upon a contrite soul [Psalm 50:19])
(center panel, on banderole of Virgin and Child): quodcumque dixerit vobis facite . J[…] (Whatever he will have assigned to you all, do! [John 2:5])
(center panel, on banderole of baby Jesus in the sun): […] Bre […] d es […] A […] (too fragmentary for interpretation)
(top left panel, on angel’s scroll): [indecipherable]
A nunnery in Segovia, Spain; Frasinelli, Stuttgart (about 1843) ; John Dunn Gardner, Bottisham Hall, Cambridgeshire (until 1854) ; his sale Christie's, London (March 25, 1854, no. 65) ; [ P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London (sold 1854)] ; Sir James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk, Kinnaird Castle, Brechin, Scotland (1854-1905) ; Sir Charles Noel Carnegie, 10th Earl of Southesk (1905-1941) ; Charles Alexander Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk (until 1948) ; [ Roland, Browse & Delbanco, London (sold 1948)] ; [ Thomas Agnew & Sons, London (1948-1949)]
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. 45.
Passavant, J. D. "Beiträge zur Kenntniß der alt-niederländischen Malerschulen bis zur Mitte des Sechszehnten Jahrhunderts." Morgenblatt für gebildete Stände / Kunstblatt 61 (August 1, 1843). p. 253.
Rathgeber, Georg. Annalen der Niederländischen Malerei, Formschneide und Kupferstecherkunst. Gotha: J. G. Müller, 1844. no. 244, col. 430.
Catalogue of the very choice collection of pictures of the highest quality. London: Christie's, London, March 25, 1854. no. 65, p. 8.
Friedländer, Max J. Die altniederländische Malerei: Volume 4, Hugo van der Goes. Berlin: Paul Cassirer, 1926. no. 81, p. 143.
Friedländer, Max J. Die altniederländische Malerei: Volume 14, Pieter Bruegel und Nachträge zu den früheren Bänden. Leiden: A. W. Sijthoff's Uitgeversmij N. V., 1937. p. 95.
Rousseau Jr., Theodore. "A Flemish Altarpiece from Spain." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 9, no. 10 (June 1951). pp. 270–83.
Allen, Josephine L., and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1954. p. 85.
Held, Julius S. "Book Reviews: Erwin Panofsky, Early Netherlandish Painting, Its Origin[s] and Character." The Art Bulletin 37, no. 3 (September 1955). p. 228.
Eisler, Colin. "Book Reviews: Erik Larsen, Les primitifs flamands au Musée Metropolitain de New York, 1960." The Art Bulletin 46, no. 1 (March 1964). pp. 103–4.
Baes-Dondeyne, Marguerite. "Een teruggevonden Luik van het Brussels Geboorteretabel uit "The Cloisters" te New York." Bulletin van het Koninklijk Instituut voor het Kunstpatrimonium 11 (1969). pp. 93–108, ill. (overall with alternative reconstructions).
Blum, Shirley Neilsen. Early Netherlandish Triptychs: A Study in Patronage. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969. p. 122 n. 15.
Friedländer, Max J. Early Netherlandish Painting: Volume 4, Hugo van der Goes. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1969. no. 81, pp. 81, 107 n. 110, pl. 75.
Davies, Martin. Rogier van der Weyden: An Essay, with a Critical Catalogue of Paintings Assigned to Him and to Robert Campin. London: Phaidon, 1972. pp. 201–2, 217.
Deuchler, Florens. "The Cloisters: Ein Museum für mittelalterliche Kunst in New York." Du 32, no. 2 (1972). p. 138.
Schabacker, Peter H. Petrus Christus. Utrecht: Haentjens Dekker & Gumbert, 1974. pp. 68–69.
Baetjer, Katharine. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. Vol. 3. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980. p. 330.
Baetjer, Katharine. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. Vol. 1. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980. p. 157.
Bermejo Martinez, Elisa. La pintura de los primitivos flamencos en España. Vol. 1. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto "Diego Velázquez", 1980. pp. 144–45.
Grosshans, Rainald. "Infrarotuntersuchungen zum Studium der Unterzeichnung auf den Berliner Altären von Rogier van der Weyden." Jahrbuch Preußischer Kulturbesitz 19 (1982). pp. 157–62, 164, 166, 176 n. 26.
Dijkstra, Jeltje. "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. 56–57, 59.
Harbison, Craig. Jan van Eyck: The Play of Realism. London: Reaktion Books, 1991. p. 141.
Sander, Jochen. Niederländische Gemälde im Städel, 1400–1550. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1993. p. 83 n. 66.
Baetjer, Katharine. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. p. 246.
Campbell, Lorne. "Approaches to Petrus Christus." In Petrus Christus in Renaissance Bruges: An Interdisciplinary Approach, edited by Maryan W. Ainsworth. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. p. 6.
Ainsworth, Maryan. "The Business of Art: Patrons, Clients, and Art Markets." In From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, edited by Maryan Ainsworth, and Keith Christiansen. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998. p. 30, (as cat. no. 45).
Ainsworth, Maryan, and Keith Christiansen, ed. From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998. no. 12, pp. 82, 212–16, 302.
Hand, John Oliver. "New York. From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Burlington Magazine 140, no. 1149 (December 1998). p. 856.
De Vos, Dirk. Rogier van der Weyden: The Complete Works. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999. p. 166 n. 2, pp. 198, 246–47.
Kemperdick, Stephan. Rogier van der Weyden 1399/1400–1464: Masters of Netherlandish Art. Cologne: Könemann, 1999. pp. 20, 22.
Fernández, Pardo Francisco, ed. Las tablas flamencas en la ruta Jacobea. San Sebastián, Spain: Diócesis de Calahorra y Lacalzada-Logroño, 1999. p. 202.
Kemperdick, Stephan. "The Workshop and Its Working Materials." In The Master of Flémalle and Rogier van der Weyden, edited by Stephan Kemperdick, and Jochen Sander. Ostfildern: Städel Museum, 2009. pp. 104–05, fig. 66, ill. p. 103.
Kemperdick, Stephan, and Jochen Sander, ed. The Master of Flémalle and Rogier van der Weyden. Frankfurt: Städel Museum, 2009. p. 344.
Workshop of Robert Campin (Netherlandish, ca. 1375–1444 Tournai)
ca. 1427–32
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