Van der Weyden, Rogier (18) 로히어르 판 데르 베이던

Rogier van der Weyden 1399/1400 – 1464

The Appereance of Mary before Augustus

oil on panel (91 × 40 cm) — c. 1445 - 1448

Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin

Rogier van der Weyden biography

Artist: Rogier van der Weyden

 

This is the left wing of Van der Weyden's Bladelin triptych. It shows a scene not often depicted in art. The scene is not biblical but comes from a medieval story, where the Roman emperor Augustus sees an altar with Mary hovering in the sky.

 

In an early version of the panel there were several banners with text from the legend. Rogier painted over them later on, probably after he and the donor Bladelin had decided they were superfluous.

 

The kneeling man, dressed in expensive clothes, is Augustus.