UNKNOWN MASTER, altarpiece painter
(15th century)

The Virgin at the Spinning-wheel

1420-30
Tempera on panel, 89 x 78 cm
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

The painting aquired from Németújvár originally made up one of the several scenes of a Mary altarpiece. On the left hand side of the mutilated painting once there were the figures of St. Joseph and an angel. There are flowers in the foreground, together with the attributes of the Virgin Mary - the wash-basin, the cauldron of water and a towel - all of which became frequent features of German and Austrian paintings influenced by Netherlandish art. The undulating forms of Mary's robe, which suggest her pregnancy, are characteristic of the Viennese painting.


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