Two Men in Stocks, and a Third Figure

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

This painting was created for a multipaneled altarpiece believed to be from Szászrégen in Transylvania, in present-day Romania. The panels included scenes from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and each scene was connected to another in order to strengthen the message of its story. These are known typological pairs and were common in religious art during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This image depicts a poor man and a rich man in stocks, with a third figure holding an elaborately decorated vase. While the source of the subject is unknown, it is likely biblical, and it would have been included as a foil to a story in another panel.

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