Workshop of the Master of the Life of the Virgin, 'Saints Jerome, Bernard (?), Giles and Benedict (?)', probably 1485-90
About the work
Overview
This is the outer face of the right-hand shutter of an altarpiece made for the Benedictine abbey at Werden. The outer face of the left-hand shutter, which is in the National Gallery’s collection, also shows four standing saints.
Saint Jerome, dressed in red cardinal’s robes, pets the lion that was, according to his legend, his companion from the moment he removed a thorn from its foot. Next to him are Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine Order, and Saint Giles, a Benedictine monk. Both wear black robes – the habit, or uniform, of the Order. The small deer by Giles’s side was his only companion during his years living in a forest; according to his legend, he saved it from a hunter’s arrow. Finally, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux stands reading. The latter three all carry abbots' staffs in recognition of their role in founding monasteries.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Saints Jerome, Bernard (?), Giles and Benedict (?): Reverse of Right Hand Shutter
- Artist
- Workshop of the Master of the Life of the Virgin
- Artist dates
- active second half of the 15th century
- Part of the series
- Two Shutters from the Werden Altarpiece
- Date made
- probably 1485-90
- Medium and support
- oil, originally on wood, transferred to canvas
- Dimensions
- 123.8 × 82.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1854
- Inventory number
- NG250
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Susan Foister, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800’, London 2024; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2014Strange Beauty: Masters of the German RenaissanceThe National Gallery (London)19 February 2014 - 11 May 2014
Bibliography
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1847E. Förster, 'Die Gemäldesammlung des Herrn Geh. Oberregierungsraths Krüger in Minden', Kunstblatt, XXVIII, 1847, pp. 21-3
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1848C.W.A. Krüger, Verzeichnis der Gemälde-Sammlung des Geheimen Regierungs-Rathes Krüger zu Minden, Minden 1848
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1863J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, Les anciens peintres flamands, Brussels 1863
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1895E. Firmenich-Richartz (ed.), Kölnische Künstler im alter und neuer Zeit, Düsseldorf 1895
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1902C. Aldenhoven, Geschichte der Kölner Malerschule, Lübeck 1902
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1923E. Beck, 'Art and History', The Burlington Magazine, XLIII, 1923, pp. 293-8
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1924H. Brockmann, Die Spätzeit der Kölner Malerschule, Bonn 1924
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1925H. Reiners, Die Kölner Malerschule, Munich 1925
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1934A. Stange, Deutsche Malerei der Gotik, 11 vols, Munich 1934
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1935E. Panofsky, 'The Friedsam Annunciation and the Problem of the Ghent Altarpiece', Art Bulletin, XVII/4, 1935, pp. 433-73
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1959Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Schools, London 1959
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1967A. Stange, Der deutschen Tafelbilder vor Dürer. Kritisches Verzeichnis, Munich 1967
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1970P. Pieper, 'Review of "Herbst des Mittelaltars. Spätgotik in Köln und am Niederrhein"', Kunstchronik, XXIII, 1970, pp. 237-44
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1977J. Mills and R. White, 'Analyses of Paint Media', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, I, 1977, pp. 57-9
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1977A. Smith, Late Gothic Art from Cologne (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 5 April - 1 June 1977), London 1977
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1978D. Robertson, Sir Charles Eastlake and the Victorian Art World, Princeton 1978
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1978H.M. Schmidt, Der Meister des Marienlebens und sein Kreis. Studien zur spätgotischen Malerei in Köln, Düsseldorf 1978
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1985A. Smith, Early Netherlandish and German Paintings, London 1985
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1991J. Dunkerton et al., Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery, New Haven 1991
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1992M. Bath, The Image of the Stag: Iconographic Themes in Western Art, Baden Baden 1992
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1997R. Billinge et al., 'Methods and Materials of Northern European Painting in the National Gallery, 1400-1550', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XVIII, 1997, pp. 6-52
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1999J. Gerchow et al., Das Jahrtausend der Mönche: Kloster Welt Werden, 799-1803 (exh. cat. Ruhrlandmuseum, 26 March - 27 June 1999), Cologne 1999
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2002D. Bomford et al., Underdrawings in Renaissance Paintings (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 30 October 2002 - 16 February 2003), London 2002
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2024S. Foister, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800, 2 vols, London 2024
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.
Images
About the series: Two Shutters from the Werden Altarpiece
Overview
These paintings once formed the shutters of an altarpiece made for the Benedictine abbey at Werden, near Cologne in Germany. The shutters were decorated on both sides, and could be closed to protect the central part of the altarpiece, which has not been traced.
The inner and outer faces have been separated, creating four panels out of two. The inner faces, which would have been visible when the shutters were open, show events from the life of Saint Hubert. The outer faces each show four standing saints, including Saint Hubert and Saint Benedict, as well as other members of the Benedictine Order.
Works in the series
Related works
