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Saint Sebastian and a Bishop Saint
The ethereal but naively drawn figures set against a landscape of flattened mounds are typical of the haunting compositions of this master, identified only through a group of works related to a painting of the Virgo inter Virgines (Virgin among Virgins) now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The small town of Delft, where woodcuts of his designs were published and where he is presumed to have worked, was far from the sophisticated cities to the south, such as Bruges and Ghent. Elongated panels, such as this one, typically functioned as the wings of an altarpiece. The presence of a coat of arms with the "fleur-de-lys" (lily) of France suggests that the altarpiece may have been commissioned for someone connected with the French royal court.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Examination | chemical analysis | |
| 1/1/1900 | Examination | chemical analysis |
| 3/18/1966 | Treatment | coated |
| 10/1/1981 | Treatment | coated; cradle removed; filled; inpainted; lined; splits mended; stabilized; surface cleaned; varnish removed or reduced; x-ray |
Geographies
Netherlands, Delft (Place of Origin)
Measurements
30 1/8 x 15 11/16 in. (76.5 x 39.9 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: 15th-Century Art of Northern Europe
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.299
