Fragment of a movable wing of a winged altarpiece
1480-90
Wood, tempera
150 x 73 cm
Inv. 55.100.1
The Birth of Jesus; on the reverse: St. George
The Birth of Jesus adorned the feast-day side of a former altarpiece wing, while St. George decorated the workday side. This panel, painted on both sides, in its present state is fragmented. The detail showing the knight was clearly on the left side of the composition, while a significant portion of the right side is lost. Therefore, the inner, feast-day side is also fragmented, with the area behind the kneeling figure of Mary missing. The section behind the shepherds opposite Mary is also truncated to a lesser degree. Originally Mary had appeared in the centre of the composition.
Provenance:
According to the 1964 catalogue of paintings in the Christian Museum, the panel’s origins are unknown. However, it had certainly been in Arnold Ipolyi’s collection: ‘87. Winged altarpiece image, with the Birth of Christ with lots of shepherds on the front (entirely genre-like) and half of a scene (the other half cut off) from the legend of St. George
Bibliography
Genthon-1948, 49. – Radocsay-1955b, 334. – Boskovits-Mojzer-Mucsi-1964, 145. Mucsi-1975 18, 70.
Provenance:
According to the 1964 catalogue of paintings in the Christian Museum, the panel’s origins are unknown. However, it had certainly been in Arnold Ipolyi’s collection: ‘87. Winged altarpiece image, with the Birth of Christ with lots of shepherds on the front (entirely genre-like) and half of a scene (the other half cut off) from the legend of St. George
Bibliography
Genthon-1948, 49. – Radocsay-1955b, 334. – Boskovits-Mojzer-Mucsi-1964, 145. Mucsi-1975 18, 70.
