Artwork
The Le Cellier Altarpiece
The Le Cellier Altarpiece is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Jehan Bellegambe. It dates from 1509 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
It was formerly in the collection of Michael Friedsam and was shown in the Loan Exhibition of French Primitives and Objects of Art.
The Le Cellier Altarpiece, painted by Jehan Bellegambe in 1509, is a religious oil panel housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The composition portrays a woman and a man, figures typically interpreted as donors or participants in a sacred narrative, characteristic of early sixteenth-century devotional imagery. As a work of religious art, the panel functions as an altarpiece inviting contemplation of theological themes.
It was formerly in the collection of Michael Friedsam and was shown in the Loan Exhibition of French Primitives and Objects of Art.
Technique & Style
The Le Cellier Altarpiece, painted by Jehan Bellegambe in 1509, is an oil painting on a wooden panel. The work measures approximately 95.3 cm in height by 24.1 cm in width and depicts a woman and a man within a religious composition. Its layered oil technique on a panel support is typical of early sixteenth-century painting from the French-Netherlandish border. The narrow, vertical format is consistent with a single component of a larger altarpiece.
History & Provenance
The Le Cellier Altarpiece is a religious panel painting executed in oil by Jehan Bellegambe, dated 1509. Depicting a man and a woman, the piece measures 95.3 cm in height and 24.1 cm in width. It was formerly in the collection of Michael Friedsam and subsequently entered the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Prior to its acquisition, the altarpiece was featured in the Loan Exhibition of French Primitives and Objects of Art, an early twentieth-century display of French primitive works.
Context
Painted in 1509, The Le Cellier Altarpiece belongs to the tradition of early sixteenth-century devotional painting from the French-Netherlandish region in which Jehan Bellegambe worked. Its religious subject and altarpiece format align with the period's painting practices, while its provenance through the Friedsam collection and its inclusion in the Loan Exhibition of French Primitives and Objects of Art reflect early twentieth-century interest in such works.
Overview
The Le Cellier Altarpiece, an oil painting completed in 1509 by the Flemish artist Jehan Bellegambe, exemplifies his religious output. This work, now housed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, presents a sacred scene featuring multiple figures, including a central woman and child, within a devotional setting. Bellegambe was active in the early 16th century and known for his distinctive approach to color in his large-scale commissions.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jehan Bellegambe or Jean Bellegambe (sometimes Belgamb or Belganb) (c. 1470 – c. June 1535/March 1536) was a French-speaking Flemish painter of religious paintings, triptychs and polyptychs, the most important of which…
Triptych of Madonna and Child with Angels; Donor and His Patron Saint Peter Martyr; and Saint Jerome and His Lion
Lactatio of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux with Donors
Madonna and Child with Angels
The Epiphany
Triptych of Immaculate Conception, central section: Allegory of Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary; left wing: Portrait of the founder, Mathias Laurin, Lord de Watervliet; right wing: Portrait of th
The Fifteen Mysteries and the Virgin of the Rosary
Virgin of the Councillors
Diptych of Christiaan de Hondt, abbott at Ter Duinen
Enthroned Virgin and Child, with Angels
