The Middelburg Altar

The central panel shows the birth of Christ with the donor worshipping the child, who is lying on the floor of the stable, with a bright light around him. The Romanesque architectural forms of the building make it clear that the appearance of Christ brought a new era. Joseph is protecting the candle-flame to show that all earthly light is outshone by the divine child. On the right-hand panel the Three Magi are kneeling before the divine child. The left-hand panel shows Emperor Augustus, the ruler of the Western world, accompanied by a prophetess, kneeling to the vision of the Madonna. The triptych thus encompasses the whole world in that the rulers of the East and the West submit to the infant Christ, the King of Kings.