GOES, Hugo van der
(b. ca. 1440, Ghent, d. 1482, Bruxelles)

Sts Margaret and Mary Magdalene with Maria Portinari (detail)

1476-79
Oil on wood
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

In the right wing of the Portinari Triptych, we can see the Kings' servant who has dismounted to ask the way from a peasant. The presence of these background figures serves to underline the unity of the triptych, as they apparently converge, from behind the donors and saints, towards the central scene.