MONSTRANCE
Editions  ·  Altarpiece
The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist — Rogier van der Weyden
birth and naming of john  ·  The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist
The Baptism of Christ — Rogier van der Weyden
baptism of christ  ·  The Baptism of Christ
The Beheading of John the Baptist — Rogier van der Weyden
beheading of john  ·  The Beheading of John the Baptist
3 sheets, one edition

The St John Altarpiece

Rogier van der Weyden (Tournai 1399/1400–1464 Brussels)
Held by Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 534B
Medium Eichenholz
Dimensions Bildmaß: je 78,7 x 49,2 cm
Credit 1850 Ankauf zweier Tafeln auf der Versteigerung der Sammlung König Wilhelms II. von Holland und einer Tafel in England

Sizes

Entry   birth and naming of john 8×10 in + baptism of christ 8×10 in + beheading of john 8×10 in   $124 · $147 bought separately

One object, one catalogue entry: the Gemaldegalerie holds the three panels as Ident. Nr. 534B and they are sold whole. Three 8x10 sheets, one edition - $147.

Three panels, each a scene under a painted stone portal with the Apostles standing in its jambs, so that the retable is a small church front. Berlin reads it as a sequel to the Miraflores Altar in the same gallery: the birth and naming of John, the Baptism of Christ at the centre as the hinge of salvation, and the Beheading. The reliefs carved into each arch tell the rest of both lives, and tie the Baptist's to Christ's at every turn. Bought in 1850, two panels at The Hague and one in England.

The museum's order: birth and naming, Baptism, Beheading; equal panels (je 78,7 x 49,2 cm).

Sources

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.