About This Artwork

Latin Kingdom

Diptych with the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion, 1275/80

Tempera on panel
Left wing: 38 x 29.5 cm (14 15/16 x 11 5/8 in.)
Painted image of left wing: 29.8 x 22.3 cm (11 3/4 x 8 3/4 in.)
Right wing: 38 x 29.5 cm (14 15/16 x 11 5/8 in.)
Painted image of right wing: 30 x 22.3 cm (11 7/8 x 8 3/4 in.)

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection, 1933.1035

This portable diptych was probably made in the Latin Kingdom established in the Holy Land by the Crusaders. In style, technique, and the use of both Latin and Greek inscriptions, it shows a mixture of Eastern and Western elements. The diptych may have been made by an Italian craftsman, possibly working in the coastal city of Acre, the capital of a reduced Crusader kingdom in the late 13th century. This type of work exerted a powerful influence on later painting in Italy, France, and the Low Countries.

This diptych, a hinged and portable work used for private devotion, was probably made in the Latin Kingdom established in the Holy Land by the Crusaders. In style, technique, and the use of both Latin and Greek inscriptions, it shows a mixture of Eastern and Western elements. The diptych may have been made by an Italian craftsman, possibly working in the coastal city of Acre, which was the capital of a reduced crusader kingdom in the late 13th century. This type of private devotional work, and related Byzantine models imported back into Western Europe, exerted a powerful influence on later painting in Italy, France, and the Low Countries.

— Permanent collection label




View mobile website