The National Gallery in London has added a rare and remarkable work of early 16th-century religious art to its collection: an enigmatic Northern Renaissance altarpiece, The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret. Dating from around 1510, the painting has not been on public display since 1960 and was acquired through a private sale for £16,420,000.
The acquisition was brokered by Sotheby’s and made possible through the support of the American Friends of the National Gallery. Although the artist’s identity remains unknown, the painting is considered to be of exceptional quality and presents a complex blend of devotional themes, detailed ornamentation, and unconventional iconography.
A Work of Uncertain Origin
The painting’s authorship remains a matter of debate among art historians. While some stylistic features suggest a French origin—such as the strong shadowing and sense of monumentality reminiscent of painters like Jean Hey—other elements point to a Netherlandish workshop. These include the panel’s composition, its alternation between finely painted areas and more dynamic passages, and its use of Baltic oak, a material commonly favoured by artists from the Low Countries.
The painting also bears stylistic similarities to the early work of Jan Gossaert. The foreshortened faces of the saints and angels resemble figures in Gossaert’s The Holy Family with Saints (c. 1510–15, Albertina, Vienna), while the treatment of brocade and metalwork is comparable to his Adoration of the Kings (National Gallery, London). Technical aspects of the underdrawing—such as the sketching of ocular cavities, knuckles, and the shading of the Virgin’s forehead—further align the work with Gossaert’s techniques.
Though the artist remains unidentified, scholars consider the altarpiece a significant contribution to the study of early 16th-century Northern painting. It also invites further investigation into the role of anonymous artists and their place in the broader narrative of late medieval and Renaissance art.
Composition and Iconography
At the centre of the painting, the Virgin and Child are enthroned beneath a richly embroidered cloth of honour, seated at the heart of what appears to be an open-air chapel. To their left stands Saint Louis, the canonised King of France, dressed in blue robes embroidered with the fleur-de-lis and wearing the collar of the Order of Saint Michael. His facial features appear individualised, suggesting the possibility of a portrait. On the opposite side is Saint Margaret, who rises unscathed from the back of a dragon. She is elaborately dressed and wears a net of sequins over her braided hair. A white dove rests on her shoulder, a reference to a little-known episode in The Golden Legend describing her miraculous crowning by a bird from heaven.
Two angels complete the scene. One plays a mouth harp—an instrument not typically associated with sacred harmony—while the other holds a songbook inscribed with the Marian hymn Ave Regina Caelorum, Mater regis angelorum. The musical notations accompanying the text are imaginative rather than precise.
The National Gallery gave itself an exceptional 200th birthday present: an altarpiece by an unknown artist whose nationality isn't even known! It shows the Virgin and Child Saint Louis IX of France and St Margaret with a crazy dragon. What is the double-headed eagle doing there? pic.twitter.com/7NwzcHtUcG
— Rembrandt's R👀m 🖌 (maaiked.bsky.social) (@RembrandtsRoom) May 3, 2025
Although the subject of the Virgin with attending saints and angels was common in the period, the painter introduced a number of distinctive details. The throne on which the Virgin sits is placed atop bare wooden steps, a surprising contrast in an otherwise ornate composition. The wood may have been intended to evoke Christ’s Passion and the wood of the cross. Such imagery is rarely found in comparable works from this time.
Saint Louis’s sceptre includes small squirming figures, possibly a depiction of the Last Judgment—an unusual feature in the metalwork of the period. Saint Margaret’s crown of daisies (known as marguerites in French) offers a visual pun on her name.
Additional visual details include historiated capitals on the pilasters framing the figures. These depict scenes from the Old Testament—such as Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and the Grapes of Canaan—alongside more obscure or humorous motifs, including a figure showing his bare backside. These elements suggest a blending of the sacred and the playful, which appears throughout the painting.
Technical Features and Dating
The panel has been examined using dendrochronology, which indicates that the painting was executed after 1483. The design of the chain of the Order of Saint Michael worn by Saint Louis offers a further clue to the painting’s date. Its characteristic double knots (aiguillettes) were changed by Francis I in 1516, suggesting that the painting predates this revision. Based on both stylistic and technical evidence, a date around 1510 is considered likely.
The painting’s format is tightly cropped, bringing the figures close to the picture plane and enhancing their sense of monumentality. The panel also preserves unpainted margins on all sides, which may indicate that it was originally intended to be framed in a particular architectural context.
Provenance and Religious Context
The earliest recorded appearance of the painting dates to 1602, when it was housed in the urban priory of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Drongen (Tronchiennes) in Ghent. At that time, the painter Antonio de Succa created drawings of the figures of Saint Louis and Saint Margaret, mistakenly identifying them as royal portraits.
Whether the painting was created specifically for the abbey remains unclear, but its subject matter would have been appropriate for the religious community. The Premonstratensians had a strong devotion to Saint Louis, who had granted them the right to bear the fleur-de-lis in their own heraldry. In 1608, the monks of the abbey consecrated an altar dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Margaret, possibly reflecting a longstanding focus on those figures within their devotional practices.
Among the painted grotesques on the pilasters, a swan appears—a motif associated with the abbey’s coat of arms—providing further circumstantial evidence for a connection between the painting and the abbey.
From Private Collection to Public Display
After being held in private collections for decades, The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret is now part of the National Gallery’s permanent holdings. Its acquisition opens new possibilities for research into early 16th-century painting, workshop practices, and iconographic innovation in Northern Europe.
The painting also offers insights into how artists combined traditional religious subjects with inventive and sometimes unexpected imagery. Its blend of devotional symbolism and individualised detail reflects both the technical skill of its creator and the complex spiritual landscape of the period in which it was made.
As the National Gallery continues to study and conserve the altarpiece, it is expected to become a valuable point of reference for scholars and an important addition to public exhibitions exploring Northern Renaissance art.
The National Gallery in London has added a rare and remarkable work of early 16th-century religious art to its collection: an enigmatic Northern Renaissance altarpiece, The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret. Dating from around 1510, the painting has not been on public display since 1960 and was acquired through a private sale for £16,420,000.
The acquisition was brokered by Sotheby’s and made possible through the support of the American Friends of the National Gallery. Although the artist’s identity remains unknown, the painting is considered to be of exceptional quality and presents a complex blend of devotional themes, detailed ornamentation, and unconventional iconography.
A Work of Uncertain Origin
The painting’s authorship remains a matter of debate among art historians. While some stylistic features suggest a French origin—such as the strong shadowing and sense of monumentality reminiscent of painters like Jean Hey—other elements point to a Netherlandish workshop. These include the panel’s composition, its alternation between finely painted areas and more dynamic passages, and its use of Baltic oak, a material commonly favoured by artists from the Low Countries.
The painting also bears stylistic similarities to the early work of Jan Gossaert. The foreshortened faces of the saints and angels resemble figures in Gossaert’s The Holy Family with Saints (c. 1510–15, Albertina, Vienna), while the treatment of brocade and metalwork is comparable to his Adoration of the Kings (National Gallery, London). Technical aspects of the underdrawing—such as the sketching of ocular cavities, knuckles, and the shading of the Virgin’s forehead—further align the work with Gossaert’s techniques.
Though the artist remains unidentified, scholars consider the altarpiece a significant contribution to the study of early 16th-century Northern painting. It also invites further investigation into the role of anonymous artists and their place in the broader narrative of late medieval and Renaissance art.
Composition and Iconography
At the centre of the painting, the Virgin and Child are enthroned beneath a richly embroidered cloth of honour, seated at the heart of what appears to be an open-air chapel. To their left stands Saint Louis, the canonised King of France, dressed in blue robes embroidered with the fleur-de-lis and wearing the collar of the Order of Saint Michael. His facial features appear individualised, suggesting the possibility of a portrait. On the opposite side is Saint Margaret, who rises unscathed from the back of a dragon. She is elaborately dressed and wears a net of sequins over her braided hair. A white dove rests on her shoulder, a reference to a little-known episode in The Golden Legend describing her miraculous crowning by a bird from heaven.
Two angels complete the scene. One plays a mouth harp—an instrument not typically associated with sacred harmony—while the other holds a songbook inscribed with the Marian hymn Ave Regina Caelorum, Mater regis angelorum. The musical notations accompanying the text are imaginative rather than precise.
Although the subject of the Virgin with attending saints and angels was common in the period, the painter introduced a number of distinctive details. The throne on which the Virgin sits is placed atop bare wooden steps, a surprising contrast in an otherwise ornate composition. The wood may have been intended to evoke Christ’s Passion and the wood of the cross. Such imagery is rarely found in comparable works from this time.
Saint Louis’s sceptre includes small squirming figures, possibly a depiction of the Last Judgment—an unusual feature in the metalwork of the period. Saint Margaret’s crown of daisies (known as marguerites in French) offers a visual pun on her name.
Additional visual details include historiated capitals on the pilasters framing the figures. These depict scenes from the Old Testament—such as Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and the Grapes of Canaan—alongside more obscure or humorous motifs, including a figure showing his bare backside. These elements suggest a blending of the sacred and the playful, which appears throughout the painting.
Technical Features and Dating
The panel has been examined using dendrochronology, which indicates that the painting was executed after 1483. The design of the chain of the Order of Saint Michael worn by Saint Louis offers a further clue to the painting’s date. Its characteristic double knots (aiguillettes) were changed by Francis I in 1516, suggesting that the painting predates this revision. Based on both stylistic and technical evidence, a date around 1510 is considered likely.
The painting’s format is tightly cropped, bringing the figures close to the picture plane and enhancing their sense of monumentality. The panel also preserves unpainted margins on all sides, which may indicate that it was originally intended to be framed in a particular architectural context.
Provenance and Religious Context
The earliest recorded appearance of the painting dates to 1602, when it was housed in the urban priory of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Drongen (Tronchiennes) in Ghent. At that time, the painter Antonio de Succa created drawings of the figures of Saint Louis and Saint Margaret, mistakenly identifying them as royal portraits.
Whether the painting was created specifically for the abbey remains unclear, but its subject matter would have been appropriate for the religious community. The Premonstratensians had a strong devotion to Saint Louis, who had granted them the right to bear the fleur-de-lis in their own heraldry. In 1608, the monks of the abbey consecrated an altar dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Margaret, possibly reflecting a longstanding focus on those figures within their devotional practices.
Among the painted grotesques on the pilasters, a swan appears—a motif associated with the abbey’s coat of arms—providing further circumstantial evidence for a connection between the painting and the abbey.
From Private Collection to Public Display
After being held in private collections for decades, The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret is now part of the National Gallery’s permanent holdings. Its acquisition opens new possibilities for research into early 16th-century painting, workshop practices, and iconographic innovation in Northern Europe.
The painting also offers insights into how artists combined traditional religious subjects with inventive and sometimes unexpected imagery. Its blend of devotional symbolism and individualised detail reflects both the technical skill of its creator and the complex spiritual landscape of the period in which it was made.
As the National Gallery continues to study and conserve the altarpiece, it is expected to become a valuable point of reference for scholars and an important addition to public exhibitions exploring Northern Renaissance art.
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