Carved Oak Retable of 1500, Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, Paris, 1851

This is an original antique chromolithograph, printed in sepia and warm brown, lettered "RÉTABLE en chêne sculpté (1500) placé sur l'Autel de l'une des Chapelles de l'Eglise paroissiale de St Germain l'Auxerrois de Paris." The altarpiece has a tall central compartment and two lower wings, each with a cusped top and openwork canopies. The center shows the Crucifixion among horsemen and soldiers, with the mourning women and the fainting Virgin below. The left wing shows Christ carrying the Cross, and the right a crowded scene with a ladder. A lower register of five smaller compartments holds further scenes with many small figures.

The caption translates as "retable in carved oak (1500), placed on the altar of one of the chapels of the parish church of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois in Paris." The running head reads "AMEUBLEMENTS RELIGIEUX Pl. 12." The credits read "H. Soltau del.", "Chromolith. Engelmann et Graf." and "Kellerhoven lith.", with "F. Séré direxit" beneath the caption.

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 twelve of the section on church furniture.

The detailed carving rewards close viewing, so a plain mount and frame serve it best.

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