Triptych with Scenes from the Life of Christ

Description

Ivory was used to make highly prized devotional objects in the Gothic era. This triptych features scenes from the infancy and Passion of Christ, arranged in a chronological sequence from left to right, starting at the bottom with the Annunciation, the Adoration of the Magi, and the Presentation in the Temple. The narrative continues in the top register with the Road to Calvary, Christ on the Cross, and the encounter of Christ and Mary Madgalen after the Resurrection. Such small devotional objects might be kept on a stand or cabinet in a bedroom, ready to be used as a focus for prayer by the layperson who owned them, along with an illuminated Psalter or Book of Hours. The intimate scale and movable wings of the triptych made it easy to store in a chest or to carry from one residence to another as needed. Although Paris has long been recognized as a great center for ivory carving in the Gothic era, recent scholarship has also emphasized the importance of workshops in England, Germany, and Italy—affirming the popularity of the medium throughout medieval Europe. This triptych was most likely made by a master artist and his atelier working in Germany, probably in Cologne.

Provenance

Frédéric Spitzer (b. 1815 - d. 1890), Paris [see Palustre and Molinier 1890, p. 47, no. 60]; his estate sale, Paris, Chevallier and Mannheim, April 17 - June 16, 1893, no. 95; acquired by Durand-Ruel as agent for Martin A. Ryerson [according to Ryerson's account with Durand-Ruel, copy in curatorial file, and list of his purchases at the Spitzer sale]; Martin A. Ryerson (d. 1932), Chicago; by descent to his wife Carrie Hutchinson Ryerson (1859–1937), Chicago, 1932 [Last Will and Testament of Martin A. Ryerson, Died August 11, 1932, copy in Institutional Archives, Art Institute of Chicago]; bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1937.

Triptych with Scenes from the Life of Christ

German

1350–75

Accession Number

25332

Medium

Ivory with traces of gold

Dimensions

25.7 × 17.5 cm (10 1/8 × 6 15/16 in.)

Classification

triptych

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection