Virgin Enthroned

Virgin Enthroned by the Master of the Antwerp Triptych of the Virgin is the central image of the altarpiece ensemble that gave this anonymous Flemish master his scholarly name, flanked by the Saint George and Saint Christopher panels. The enthroned Virgin holding the Christ child occupied the apex of the late medieval altarpiece hierarchy — the Queen of Heaven in royal state. By the 1480s, Antwerp had become the dominant factory of such altarpieces, produced for export to churches and wealthy patrons across northern Europe, the Baltic states, and the Iberian Peninsula through the city's booming international trade networks.

The Virgin sits on an elaborate Gothic throne, her crown and robe rendered with jewel-like Flemish precision. The Christ child on her lap engages outward toward the viewer. Flanking angels or architectural canopy elements frame the central figures in the established Gothic manner.