House Altarpiece in the Cloisters, October 2017

Private Devotional Shrine

Date:ca. 1490

Geography:Made in Swabia, Germany

Culture:German

Medium:Wood, paint, gold, translucent glazes, and metal fixtures

Dimensions:Overall (open): 13 3/16 × 11 7/8 × 2 15/16 in. (33.5 × 30.2 × 7.5 cm)

Classification:Sculpture-Wood

Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1991

Accession Number:1991.10

The predominance of female subjects suggests that this miniature altarpiece belonged to a woman. Saint Anne holds her diminutive daughter the Virgin Mary and her grandchild Jesus in the center; Saints Catherine and Barbara appear on the interior of the wings and Saints Ursula and Dorothy on the outside. The kneeling patroness occupies the place of honor to the right of the holy group. The man’s long shirt, imitating coarse animal hair, indicates that he was a member of a lay penitent order or perhaps both belonged to a lay confraternity devoted to the cult of Saint Anne. At the bottom is the image of the face of Jesus, which was believed to have been imprinted miraculously on the veil of Saint Veronica just prior to his Crucifixion. The painted surfaces are exceptionally well preserved.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/469931