National Gallery acquires the altar with amazing dragons –

The National Gallery in London has just acquired an early 16th century full of mystery, from authorship to portraits to its absolutely stunning razor, terrier dragon for £16.4 million ($22 million). It was a huge sum for an old master who didn’t belong, but the price tag proved extraordinary quality The children of Our Lady and Saints Louis and Margaret.

The altar on the oily surface depicts the virgin’s virgin and is under a cloth tent embroidered with embroidered flowers. On her bleachers painted with pilasters, engraved with marble capitals, scenes from the Old Testament, and other scenes that have not been determined. On both sides of the virgin are an angel, one opening a harp and holding a hymn on the other side. In front and side of the angel are two saints: St. Louis (King of Louis of France) and St. Margaret pour out of the broken body of the angry dragon, who ate her but could not stand the cross she was wearing.

Virgin originating from angels and saints is a popular theme, but this rendition has many weirdness that makes it unique. Mary’s throne sits on ordinary wooden steps, Stark wood seats compared to the lush textiles and ornate decorations of the throne and pilasters. From this period, there are no other examples of ordinary wood steps in paintings on the subject. The metal scepter of St. Louis, with a large number of humans on it, is far from the usual crown jewels. But the weirdest thing is Margaret’s wonderful slow dragon. There are many dragons in Margaret’s portraits, some of which she stands out from the hammer, but no one likes him.

Researchers believe it was either painted by a Dutch artist or a French artist. There are great similarities between this work and Jan Gossaert’s early works. That is, the insights of angels and saints, the presentation of brocade and metal products, insufficient technology. The Dutch hypothesis was also supported by the Baltic oak itself. French artists used local wood. On the other hand, the presence of Louis, the particularity of his facial features, the meticulous details of the St. Michael chain he wore, suggested to French artists. One possibility is Master Maurin, Jean Hey, who is known for his dramatic lighting and shadows and huge characters who fill the space on the edge.

The description of the chain is so precise that it can help with the date altar. Dendritic chronological analysis of oak found that the panel had to be drawn after 1483. The double knots on the command of St. Michael’s Aiguillettes stopped using King Francis I to change their designs in 1516. This shows that the chain is drawn from life. Judging from other style elements, the researchers estimate the date of about 1510.

The earliest drawing documents are recorded in 1602 in the pre-construction monastery of Drongen (Tronchiennes) in Ghent, Belgium. By then it had been nearly a hundred years, but it was possible to commission the church of the monastery and had been there since the beginning. The prophecy commands honoring St. Louis to grant them the right to assume fleur-de-lis at its summit, and they were known to offer an altar in 1608 at Mary and Saint Margaret in Ghent Priorory. The painting itself may contain a hint. In the decoration on the right, there is a pair of blue swans with a tangled neck around their necks, which are the central heraldic signs of the monastery.

Although published before, the extraordinary details and vivid palettes on the altar have never been copied in colors until now, and the public has no chance to see its splendor for decades. It is privately owned and last exhibited in 1960. The National Gallery knows its greatness very well and has long longed for it. Thanks to the support of Friends of America at the National Gallery, the museum was able to fulfill its wishes and acquire them with a private sale at Sotheby’s.

The painting will be exhibited on May 10 CC Land: The Miracle of ArtThis is the major Rehang of the National Gallery’s collection of Western European art on the newly enclosed Sainsbury wing, where the museum’s earliest work is. You can devour the delicious details of this altar by amplifying the high-resolution image from the National Gallery online collection.