Triptych of the Coronation of the Virgin

Flemish panel paintings were greatly admired in Spain, especially in the domain of private worship. Commencing in the 15th century, triptychs, altarpieces, diptychs and polyptychs painted by masters in Brabant, Brussels and Antwerp were imported en masse via the Castilian fairs or commissioned directly from Flanders by commercial agents. Many of the panels now found in Spain are attributed to Marcellus Coffermans, active in Antwerp between 1549 and 1575. In this triptych his old-fashioned style is accompanied by a prayer promulgated by the Counter-Reformation during his lifetime, the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.