Carved Oak Retable from Saint Bavon, Ghent, Life of the Virgin, 1851

This is an original antique chromolithograph, printed in sepia and brown, lettered "RÉTABLE en chêne sculpté (fin du XVe siècle) provenant de la Cathédrale de St Bavon (Gand) représentant la vie de la vierge en 4 tableaux. Appartient à l'Alliance des Arts (Pour les détails historiques, voir la table alphabétique des planches, VIERGE.)" Three compartments sit under an arched case with pierced scroll cresting. The center shows the death of the Virgin, the apostles gathered round her bed, with the Virgin borne up by an angel above. The side compartments hold crowded scenes before buildings, and a small fourth scene is set in the base of the center. Seven apostle figures stand along the predella, and three statues crown the pinnacles.

The caption translates as "retable in carved oak (end of the fifteenth century) from the Cathedral of Saint Bavon (Ghent), showing the life of the Virgin in four scenes. Belongs to the Alliance des Arts (for historical details, see the alphabetical table of plates, under Virgin)." The running head reads "AMEUBLEMENTS RELIGIEUX. Pl. 14." The credits read "H. Soltau del.", "Kellerhoven lith." and "Chromolith. Engelmann et Graf", with "F. Séré direxit" beneath.

Le Moyen Âge et la Renaissance was published in Paris in five volumes between 1848 and 1851. Paul Lacroix, who also wrote as the Bibliophile Jacob, edited the text, and Ferdinand Séré directed the illustrations, which is why his name and the word direxit stand beneath every plate. The work surveys the manners, crafts, sciences and arts of medieval and Renaissance Europe, and its chromolithographed plates record objects held around 1850 in churches, museums and private collections. This plate is from the fourth volume, dated 1851, plate fourteen of the section on church furniture.

It makes a fine pair with the plate of the 1504 Saint Bavon retable.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.