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St. Christopher, St. Erasmus, St. Barbara, and another female saint

Unknown

1424

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Northern Renaissance Renaissance Renaissance Religious Salzburg

Dominant colour

St. Christopher, St. Erasmus, St. Barbara, and another female saint is a 1424 unspecified by Unknown, a Northern Renaissance work, depicting Salzburg, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1424 · Northern Renaissance
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see four saints standing side by side under a gold-leaf sky. St. Christopher carries the Christ child on his shoulder, St. Erasmus holds his guts on a windlass, and St. Barbara clutches a tower. This painting was once the center of a small folding altarpiece for someone’s home. The tiny kneeling figures at the bottom are the people who paid for it—they’re watching the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, almost like guests at a private show. Look up other paintings made for austria, salzburg to see how artists there dressed saints in local clothes.

The story of this work

Overview

This small winged altarpiece, called a triptych, was undoubtedly made for private use. The donor and his wife are shown in the lower central scene kneeling before the Virgin, her mother Saint Anne, and the Christ child. Above is the Epiphany with the Three Kings presenting gifts to a tightly swaddled Christ.

Read the full account in the museum source.