Triptych of The Holy Face

Master Bertram of Minden was the foremost painter in northern Germany in the late fourteenth century, working primarily in Hamburg where he headed a large and productive workshop. This Triptych of the Holy Face, dating to around 1395, centers on the Veronica — the miraculous imprint of Christ's face on cloth — one of the most powerful devotional images in medieval Christianity. The work reflects the intense Passion-centered piety of late Gothic northern Europe, where meditation on Christ's suffering was central to spiritual life.

Tempera on panel in triptych format with gold ground and hinged wings for opening and closing. Master Bertram's style combines the robust, stocky figure type of northern European Gothic with meticulous decorative detail in the textiles and ornamental borders.