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The Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine and Barbara

Quentin Matsysprobably about 1515-25

The National Gallery, London

The National Gallery, London
London, United Kingdom

The infant Christ places a wedding ring on the finger of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, while the Virgin gives Saint Barbara a crown.

One of the rare surviving examples of the numerous cloth paintings produced in the Netherlands in the 15th and 16th centuries, and in places badly worn.

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  • Title: The Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine and Barbara
  • Creator: Quinten Massys
  • Date Created: probably about 1515-25
  • Physical Dimensions: 93.5 × 110.3 cm
  • Type: Painting
  • Medium: Glue on linen
  • School: Netherlandish
  • More Info: Explore the National Gallery’s paintings online
  • Inventory number: NG3664
  • Artist Dates: 1465/6 - 1530
  • Artist Biography: Massys was the leading painter in Antwerp in the early 16th century. He was born in Louvain and his earliest works show the influence of Memling, who had been active in Bruges. His later works show some Italian influence, particularly that of Leonardo. He was notable as a portraitist as well as a religious painter. Massys is first recorded in Antwerp, on becoming a member of the guild there in 1491, when the town was beginning to assume importance as the main port of the Netherlands. There are dated and datable paintings by Massys from 1509 onwards, the year of the completion of his altarpiece of the 'Legend of Saint Anna' (now in the Brussels Museum). In Antwerp, Massys was closely associated with Joachim Patinir, and seems to have supplied figures for his landscapes.
  • Acquisition Credit: Presented by Charles Bridger Orme Clarke, 1922
The National Gallery, London

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