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Circle of the Master of Liesborn, 'Saint Margaret', late 15th century

About the work

This is one of two fragments in the National Gallery’s collection of a larger work that showed the Virgin Mary and Christ Child seated in a garden. It shows Saint Margaret, who was from the town of Antioch (in modern-day Turkey). She wears a headdress of pearls, as her name means ‘pearl’ in Greek and Latin.

According to her legend, Saint Margaret escaped from the stomach of a dragon which had swallowed her whole by making the sign of the cross. Here she is shown holding a gilded cross and using the monstrous creature – it bares its teeth at the right of the fragment – as a seat. She holds the animal by a golden chain, emphasising her victory over it. The inscription on her halo, which has been repainted, reads: ‘Sancta margarit’.

Although the panel is badly damaged, there is part of a lamb’s body behind Margaret. The lamb was the attribute of Saint Agnes; her name means ‘lamb’ in Latin.

Key facts

Full title
Saint Margaret
Artist
Circle of the Master of Liesborn
Artist dates
active second half of the 15th century
Part of the series
Fragments from an Altarpiece of the Virgin and Saints
Date made
late 15th century
Medium and support
oil on wood
Dimensions
80.7 × 47.9 cm
Acquisition credit
Bought, 1854
Inventory number
NG2153
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

About the series: Fragments from an Altarpiece of the Virgin and Saints

Circle of the Master of Liesborn, 'Saint Dorothy', late 15th century

These two panels showing Saints Dorothy and Margaret are fragments of a larger painting which probably showed the Virgin Mary and Christ Child seated in a garden surrounded by female saints. The other saints probably included Agnes and Catherine. The panels come from a chapel in Lippstadt in the region of Westphalia in western Germany.

There are several other panels in the National Gallery’s collection painted by the same anonymous master. He has been named after the altarpiece that he painted for the Benedictine abbey at Liesborn, fragments of which are also in the Gallery’s collection.

Saint Dorothy
Saint Dorothy
Circle of the Master of Liesborn
This is one of two fragments in the National Gallery’s collection of a larger work which showed the Virgin and Christ Child seated in a garden. It depicts Saint Dorothy, who lived in Caesarea (Kayseri in modern-day Turkey) in the fourth century.Saint Dorothy is usually shown, as here, carrying a...
Not on display
Saint Margaret
Saint Margaret
Circle of the Master of Liesborn
This is one of two fragments in the National Gallery’s collection of a larger work that showed the Virgin Mary and Christ Child seated in a garden. It shows Saint Margaret, who was from the town of Antioch (in modern-day Turkey). She wears a headdress of pearls, as her name means ‘pearl’ in Greek...
Not on display

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