Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece)
Sizes
One object, one accession: the Met holds the three panels as 56.70a–c and they are sold whole. Three sheets, one edition - $157.
In the Cloisters Collection since 1956 and, the Met says, one of the most celebrated of early Netherlandish paintings for its detailed observation, its rich imagery and its superb condition. Three oak panels made in phases in Robert Campin's Tournai workshop: the Annunciation first, probably not commissioned; then the wings at the donor's order, the man kneeling at the Virgin's door and Joseph at his bench; later, in the 1430s and presumably after his marriage, his wife and the town messenger. The panels are equal in height; the sheets here come as close as the ladder allows.
The Met's order: the donors' wing, the Annunciation, Joseph's wing - the triptych open, as the Cloisters shows it. The printed images hang within 10.1% of level, the closest the sheet ladder allows for a near-square centre between narrow wings; the panels themselves are equal, 64.1 and 64.5 cm (the Met's dimensions).
Printed on demand as one edition. The whole image is printed on every sheet — never cropped to fit — so each panel carries an archival margin.