The National Gallery acquires large 16th-century mystery altarpiece not exhibited in public for over sixty years

The National Gallery has acquired a fascinating and mysterious early 16th-century Northern Renaissance altarpiece that has not been exhibited since 1960*. 

With the Virgin and Child at its centre, this painting also depicts two saints, two playful angels, a bawdy scene with a naughty child on one of the column capitals and a magnificent slobbering dragon. The painting is of outstanding importance even though its authorship is unknown – even whether the painter was Netherlandish or French is up for debate.

Dating from about 1510, The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret was acquired from a private collection by private treaty sale brokered by Sotheby’s, at a special price of £16.4 million. The purchase has been made possible thanks to the support of the American Friends of the National Gallery.

This picture is the latest acquisition of the Gallery, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary during 2024‒25. It will go on display from 10 May as part of C C Land: The Wonder of Art, the Gallery’s biggest and most ambitious rehang of its collection displays and the opening of the newly transformed Sainsbury Wing.

'The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret' served as an altarpiece, perhaps for the urban priory of Drongen (Tronchiennes) in Ghent in modern Belgium, where it was first documented in 1602.

Enthroned in the middle of an open-air chapel, the Virgin and Child are flanked by two music-making angels, the holy king of France Saint Louis, and Saint Margaret. Sumptuously dressed, she rises unharmed from the broken shell of the dragon that swallowed her. Of the two angels, one plays a mouth harp while the other holds a song book, inscribed with an identifiable Marian hymn, Ave Regina Caelorum, Mater regis angelorum. (Hail, Queen of Heaven, Hail, Lady of Angels.) The musical notation, however, is fanciful.

The painting is full of wildly inventive details. Some are sombre, such as the bare wooden steps and nail heads that foretell Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. Others are unusual, such as the mouth harp played by the angel at left, a sound hardly associated with celestial harmony. Others still are humorous, such as the unruly child showing us his behind on the top right capital. 

With its lack of artist attribution, this painting challenges art historians’ tendency to focus on names and demonstrates that for the late medieval and Renaissance periods, anonymity can intersect with extraordinary quality.

The panel’s overall eccentricity and the dramatically foreshortened faces of the saints and angels are reminiscent of the early work of Jan Gossaert (active 1508; died 1532) whose Adoration of the Kings is in the National Gallery’s collection. The composition and versatile execution – alternating smoothly painted areas and minute details with more dynamic passages – also pay homage to the Netherlandish tradition of Jan van Eyck (active 1422; died 1441) and Hugo van der Goes (active 1467; died 1482.) The overall sense of plasticity, monumentality, and the strong shadows recall the work of French painters like Jean Hey (Master of Moulins) (active 1482; died after 1504.)  The Netherlandish hypothesis is supported by the painting’s Baltic oak panel, since French artists tended to use locally sourced oak.

Examination of the panel via dendrochronology indicates that the painting was executed after 1483. The design of the chain of the Order of Saint Michael worn by Saint Louis, with its double knots or ‘aiguillettes’, was modified by Francis I in 1516, implying that the picture was painted before that year. A dating of about 1510 seems appropriate on stylistic grounds.

'The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret' is the latest of the Gallery’s Bicentenary acquisitions following After the Audience by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema; Poussin’s Eucharist; and The Full-length Mirror by Eva Gonzalès.

Emma Capron, Curator of Early Netherlandish and German Paintings, at the National Gallery, says: ‘This is a rare and exciting addition to the National Gallery’s superb collection of Early Netherlandish Paintings. This altarpiece is the work of a talented and highly original artist, and I hope that ongoing research and the painting’s public display will help solve this conundrum in the future.’  

Notes to editors

*The work was previously exempted from Capital Taxes and public access was given in accordance with the terms of the scheme. 

NG6708: Netherlandish or French
'The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret', about 1510
Oil on wood, measurements H 122.2 x W 105.8 cm 
Bought with the support of the American Friends of the National Gallery, 2025

Bought at a special price of £16,420,000 by private treaty sale in negotiations brokered by Sotheby’s

The painting

The identity of the artist responsible for this impressive panel is a mystery. In fact, whether the painter was Netherlandish or French is up for debate. The overall sense of plasticity, monumentality, and the strong shadows recall the work of French painters like Jean Hey. On the other hand, the composition and versatile execution – alternating smoothly painted areas and minute details with more dynamic passages – pay homage to the Netherlandish tradition of Jan van Eyck (The Virgin and Child with the Canon Joris van der Paele; Bruges, Groeningemuseum) and Hugo van der Goes (The Portinari Altarpiece; Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi). The Netherlandish hypothesis is supported by the painting’s Baltic oak panel, since French artists tended to use locally sourced oak.

Stylistic parallels can be found with the early work of Jan Gossaert. The dramatically foreshortened faces of the saints and angels are reminiscent of some of his early drawings, for instance the left saint of The Holy Family with Saints (c. 1510-5; Albertina, Vienna). The treatment of the brocade and metalwork compares well with passages from Gossaert’s Adoration of the Kings (London, National Gallery). Both artists also used similar underdrawing techniques, especially the way of sketching the ocular cavities, the knuckles, the shading of the Virgin’s forehead, and the absence of wash. The eccentricity that pervades the panel also recalls Gossaert’s manner. This painting challenges art historians’ tendency to focus on names and demonstrates that for the late medieval and Renaissance periods, anonymity can intersect with extraordinary quality.

At the centre of an open-air chapel, the Virgin and Child sit enthroned before a richly embroidered cloth of honour. They are flanked by the canonised King of France Saint Louis; he is clad in blue robes embroidered with the fleur-de-lis and wears the collar of the French royal order of Saint Michael. His individualised features suggest it is a portrait. Opposite is Saint Margaret, sumptuously dressed and rising unharmed from the broken carapace of the frowning, slobbering dragon she defeated. Completing the circle are two angels: one plays a mouth harp while the other holds a song book, inscribed with an identifiable Marian hymn, ‘Ave Regina Caelorum, Mater regis angelorum’. The musical notations, however, are fanciful.

If the subject of the Virgin enthroned with angels and saints was nothing new by first decade of the 16th century, its treatment here is wildly inventive; the painting is replete with iconographic oddities. These include the bare wooden steps upon which the Virgin’s throne is set; they stand out dramatically in this splendid setting. The plain timber was probably a symbol of humility, but, secured with prominent nails, it also potently evokes the wood of the cross and Christ’s impending sacrifice. No other example of such imagery is known to survive. Similarly, the squirming figures topping Saint Louis’ sceptre (possibly a Last Judgment) are eccentric for metalwork of the period. The sequined net that adorns Margaret’s braided hair is also unusual, as are her crown of daisies (‘marguerites’ in French) and the dove resting on her shoulder – an allusion to a little-known passage from The Golden Legend recounting Margaret’s miraculous crowning by a bird descended from heaven. The angel playing the mouth harp – a sound hardly associated with celestial harmony – is a rare occurrence in medieval iconography. The historiated capitals that top the pilasters behind the holy figures alternate recognisable episodes from the Old Testament (The Drunkenness of Noah, The Grapes of Canaan, Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel) with more obscure and even surprisingly bawdy subjects (for instance the unruly putto showing us his behind at top right).

Seen from below, the figures have been brought to the very edge of the picture plane, lending them great monumentality. This tightly cropped format is original: the panel shows unpainted edges on all its sides. The painter’s ambition to dazzle viewers permeates every inch of the painting, evident in details such as the twisting chain of Margaret’s girdle, the translucent gems of her cross, the loose strand of hair across the Virgin’s chest, or the sliver of light that catches her right cheek.

Examination of the panel via dendrochronology indicates that the painting was executed after 1483. On the other hand, the design of the chain of the Order of Saint Michael worn by Saint Louis, with its double knots or ‘aiguillettes’, was modified by Francis I in 1516, implying that the picture was painted before that year. A dating of about 1510 seems appropriate on stylistic grounds.

The painting was first documented in 1602 in the urban priory of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Drongen (Tronchiennes) in Ghent, when the figures of Saints Louis and Margaret were drawn by the painter Antonio de Succa on the mistaken assumption that they were royal portraits. Whether the priory was the painting’s original location is unknown, but the choice of saints would not be inappropriate. The Premonstratensians had particular reverence for Saint Louis because he had granted them the right to bear the fleur-de-lis in their coat-of-arms. In 1608, the monks consecrated an altar devoted to the Virgin and Saint Margaret at the Ghent priory, perhaps reflecting pre-existing devotional interests. The swan, which appears among the grotesque ornaments on the right pilaster, was the main feature of the monastery’s arms.

NG200: 200 years of the National Gallery  

From 10 May 2024, the 200th anniversary of the Gallery’s foundation, a year-long festival of art, creativity and imagination started across the UK, and around the world, and at our home in London. This has led us into our third century of bringing people and paintings together. For more information go to: nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/ng200-programme  

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