Salvator Mundi

The Master of the Mansi Magdalen painted this Salvator Mundi around 1515, depicting Christ as savior of the world holding an orb and blessing the viewer. The Salvator Mundi type—frontally posed, Christ making the sign of blessing with one hand and holding the globe in the other—had been given definitive Renaissance form by Leonardo da Vinci in his now-famous version, and the image circulated widely through copies and prints from Antwerp's thriving print industry. This Bruges-based anonymous master combined careful Flemish panel technique with the new devotional image type, producing a devotional object suited for private contemplation. The frontal gaze creates an intensity of sacred encounter characteristic of devotional images designed for intimate prayer.

The panel shows the workshop's polished technique with smooth modeling and warm tones, characteristic of the commercially produced devotional images that served a broad international clientele.