‏‏‎ Triptych of the Appearance of Christ to the Virgin

The central panel of this triptych by Garcia Fernandes bears the date of 1531 on the entablature of the large window on the right. On the interior side of the wings, the Archangel Gabriel appears in the compartment where the Virgin sits reading the prophecy of Isaiah. Divided into two panels – which is rare in 16th century Portuguese painting – this theme frames the central one of the Apparition of Christ to the Virgin. The employment of secondary narratives – the Meeting on the Road to Emmaus, the Descent into Limbo, and the Meeting with Mary Magdalene – is a mediaeval archaism that contrasts strongly with the modelling of vestments on the elongated human form, and is a sign of a new Mannerist phase in the painter's work. With the triptych closed one may observe the Quo Vadis in grisaille.