WEYDEN, Rogier van der
(b. 1400, Tournai, d. 1464, Bruxelles)

Miraflores Altarpiece (detail)

c. 1440
Oil on oak panel
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

The scene on the right panel is the only one in this altarpiece that illustrates two events at once: in the foreground we see Christ appearing to the Virgin Mary, while in the background we can see the immediately preceding event, His resurrection on Easter morning. The artist may have thought it necessary to explain the main scene, which was not often painted. The winding road from the tomb to the building in the foreground makes it clear that Christ went to his mother at once, so that she would be the first to experience the joy of reunion with him.