Le vray support de toute créature

The Master of Amiens created this devotional panel around 1522 as part of a series with French inscriptions. The text and imagery combine to create a didactic program for religious instruction or contemplation. The painting is in the Musée de Picardie in Amiens. The tempera-on-panel medium required a carefully gessoed surface and was painted in fine, precise layers, yielding a luminous, jewel-like surface of great durability.

The panel combines figurative imagery with inscribed text in the Franco-Flemish devotional tradition. The painting technique reflects the regional style of Picardy with its blend of French and Netherlandish influences.