medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear friends,
I have in front of me a postcard of a tryptich: Flemish, 15th C. The
original - whch I have seen - is in the Dobre'e collection in Nantes.
The central panel shows the extended Holy Family. The central figures are
the BVM and St Anne playing with the Christ-Child who is standing on the
open book on St Anne's lap. Behind the BVM is a balding, middle-aged St
Joseph and behind St Anne is a white-bearded elderly St Joachim. (Does this
have any relevance to our current discussions of the BVM & St Jos ?) The
Holy Dove hovers over the two ladies and the Child. No sign of
God-the-Father but there are also 4 musical angels.
The right-hand panel shows the female donoe with small child at her side and
behind her a female saint: with long. loose hair and holding a tower. I
guess St Barbara, probably the donor-lady's name-saint.
The left hand panel has me stumped. The male donor kneels in front of a male
saint. This saint is young and beardless. His halo seems to have some
decoration in it, almost like a crown of thorns. (He is wearing a hat, but
this is a contemporary fashion-statement, I suspect.) In his right hand he
holds a sword, pointing upwards (the instrument of his martyrdom ??). In his
left hand he holds an orb. The globe is crystal and it has a gold equator
and a gold surmounting cross. Under his rich, fur-trimmed robe ( very much
the 15th C fashion!) the male saint wears either a breastplate, or a very
shiny tunic in which the cross of the orb seems to be reflected. My first
thought was "St James the Brother of Our Lord" but I am not sure.
Any suggestions ?
The whole piece is charming and quite delightful.
Brenda.
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