Triptych with the Crucifixion and Saints

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

At the center of this gold-ground triptych, the dead Christ hangs on the Cross and bleeds from his side, hands, and knees. He is accompanied by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist at left, and Saints Francis and Margaret kneeling at the foot of the Cross. The triptych's left wing is occupied by a Madonna and Child with two holy deacons holding books; the right shows Saints Dominic, Antony Abbot, and Christopher, who carries the Christ Child. This communion of saints does not readily suggest who may have commissioned the triptych—though its focus on mendicant friars, motherhood, and Christ's infancy suggests a few possibilities. Whatever the case, Christ and the saints offered focal points for prayers and meditations, and the act of opening and closing the wings provided further intimacy and drama. Some faithful in the 14th century even furnished their triptychs with curtains fringed with jingle bells, to add a sonic element to the process.

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