Side Panels of the Drapers' Altar

Maerten van Heemskerck made these two side panels for the Haarlem Guild of Drapers, the guild of the cloth and wool weavers. The panels were intended for the Guild of Drapers’ altar, which was in the Great Church, otherwise known as the Church of St Bavo. They were probably added to an existing centrepiece, whose whereabouts are now unknown.
When closed, the two side panels show the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary. Mary kneels at her prayer stool, with a Bible open before her. While the magnificently attired Archangel Gabriel tells her of the birth of Jesus, the dove of the Holy Ghost descends on Mary. Mary’s robe must originally have been blue. The smalt, the pigment that Van Heemskerck used for her garments, has faded over the centuries and only the brown of the binder now remains.
Open, the panels show the Adoration of the Shepherds on the left and the Adoration of the Magi on the right. Maerten van Heemskerck has made a place for himself among the magi and their retinue. He is the man with the beard, to the right of the standing magus. The city acquired the side panels in 1581. In 1591 Cornelis van Haarlem was commissioned to paint a new centre panel depicting the Massacre of the Innocents.