Scenes from the life of Saint Bertin and the Annunciation to Mary with prophets and evangelists

Simon Marmion, who worked in Amiens, in Valenciennes, and briefly in Tournai, was among the outstanding French masters of the second half of the 15th century. The earliest surviving reports already praise him as the “prince d’enluminure”, and his miniatures elicited great admiration by virtue of their rich landscape details. Marmion’s masterpiece, and the point of departure for the reconstruction of his oeuvre, which combines elements of French and Netherlandish art, is the altarpiece for the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Bertin in the town of Saint-Omer, formerly a part of the County of Flanders. The commissioner of the retabel, which was set up in 1459 on the high altar of the abbey church, was Guillaume Fillastre, Bishop of Verdun (1437–49), Bishop of Toul (1449–60), Abbot of Saint Bertin (1450–73), Bishop of Tournai (1460–73), Chancellor of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and a close confidant of Philip the Good, the powerful Duke of Burgundy. The precious altarpiece retained its place in the abbey until 1791, when it fell victim – like so many church treasures – to the French Revolution. The central shrine, containing sculptures and precious goldsmith work, was destroyed and the gold melted down. Surviving were the painted wings on each side, the work of Marmion. Originally, they were embellished with merlon-style vertical extensions, which were however separated from the panels in the early 19th century, and are preserved today in the National Gallery in London. Today, these wings convey only an inadequate impression of the monumental impact of the uncommonly elaborate retabel, which was more than six meters wide when opened. The wings are decorated on their backs, formerly the outer sides, with grisaille paintings. When the altarpiece was closed, these formed its “working day side”. On the left, we see Mark and Micah, John and Solomon, as well as the Archangel Gabriel, who is linked to the Virgin of the Annunciation on the right-hand side, who is herself joined by depictions of David, Matthew, Isaiah, and Luke. The kings, prophets, and four evangelists, who carry texted banderoles and are identified by inscriptions, frame the Annunciation scene in pairs in painted niches. At the same time, they anticipated the program of the precious altar shrine, at whose centre the Crucifixion was displayed, over which towerd the gilded trunk of the Tree of Life as an emblem of Christ’s work of redemption, which bestows upon humanity the wine of the Eucharistic blood.
Meriting special attention are the inner sides of the two wings, which once flanked the golden central shrine. They captivate the viewer by virtue of their brilliant colouration, almost crystalline clarity, and extraordinary wealth of detail. Taken together, they form an ambitiously conceived cycle, each panel consisting of five scenes, separated by richly elaborated architecture, which narrates the events of the life of Saint Bertin, the abbey’s founder and tutelary saint. Saint Bertin, who was born around 615 near Coutances (Manche) and died on 5 September 698, entered the monastery in Luxeuil (Haute Saône). He was the Bishop of Thérouanne (Pas-de-Calais), and founded the monastery of Sithiu (known as
Saint Bertin beginning in 1100), whose Abbot he was from 670 until his death. He has been revered as a saint since 745.
The sequence of scenes begins in the lower left corner of the left wing. Depicted here is the donor Guillaume Fillastre, who kneels before an open missal wearing Episcopal regalia. A chaplain stands behind him. His coat of arms is carried by an angel who hovers above him. Visible on the first vertical extension, today found in London, are singing and music-making angels. The donor’s gaze is focused on the ensuing events from the life of the saint. We too are able to follow events from his birth to his investiture at the monastery of Luxeuil. Filled with humility, he kneels down beneath the church portal, and then once more in prayer before the rood screen of the church. The following scene tells of Bertin’s pilgrimage and his reception in Thérouanne by Saint Omer, accompanied by the monks Ébertramne and Momelin. Succeeding this scene is a depiction of the foundation and construction
of the new monastery. Saint Bertin and the knight Adrowald, the landlord of the district, seal the donation. Towering up in the landscape near the Aa River is the knight’s castle. Floating on the water is a boat containing the saint and his companions, guided by an angel who shows them the place God has designated for the building of the monastery.
On the right-hand side panel, these events continue with the legend of the miracle of the wine. It tells how the knight Waldbert topples from his horse because he has neglected to obtain the blessing of the monastery. Afterwards, Waldbert sends a squire, who is charged with returning with a drink that has been consecrated by Saint Bertin. Through a miracle, and empty cask has been filled with wine. We see the monk Duodon, who kneels before the cask, the squire, and Saint Bertin,
before whose eyes the miracle transpires. The adjacent scene shows the knight, now healed as well as converted, together with his son, renouncing the world and entering the monastery. Afterwards, four Breton noblemen are accepted by the saint into the order. Opening up behind these two scenes is a view of a Gothic cloister, whose walls are painted with a circumferential depiction of a Dance of
Death. We see young man of noble origin contemplating these images, which testify to the transitory nature of everything earthly. To be sure, Saint Bertin himself was exposed to mundane temptations, as the succeeding scene illustrates. A seductive, fashionably attired woman appears before the saint in order to entice him. The clawed feet, which peep out from under her dress, reveal that she is an evil demon, who is nonetheless spellbound and vanquished by Martin of Tours. In the final scene, we see Saint Bertin on his deathbed, mourned by a distinguished patron of the monastery together with the monks, who performed the last rites. The vertical panel that formerly topped this scene, shows the reception of Bertin’s soul in heaven.
The brilliant colours and rich detail of these scenes testify to Marmion’s extraordinary abilities, especially as a miniaturist. Remarkable in particular is the differentiated treatment of light, which falls onto the architectural setting in a multitude of gradations, and which endows these silent spaces with an inimitable atmosphere. Beginning with the cell of the donor and Bertin’s death chamber at the sides, the illumination experiences a gradual intensification whose highpoint is the sweeping vistas of the bright, light-flooded landscape, which once effected a transition to the central shrine, with its golden sculptural decoration. Rainald Grosshans | 200 Masterpieces of European Painting – Gemäldegalerie Berlin, 2019