Miraflores Altarpiece
by Rogier van der WEYDEN

Rogier's position as town painter left him and his workshop at liberty to supply paintings to many other clients, both in Brussels and further afield. Around 1440 his fame had already spread well beyond the borders of the Netherlands. His name was known as far away as Spain, where King Juan II of Castile had founded the Carthusian monastery of Miraflores near Burgos in 1442, donating an altarpiece on the subject of the Virgin Mary by the hand "of Master Rogier, the great and famous Fleming." These details are mentioned in what is probably a contemporary record from the monastery, extant not in the original but in what seems to be a reliable copy made in the late 18th century. Fortunately, the Miraflores Altarpiece itself has been preserved as well as the record mentioning it.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 11 minutes):
Georges de la Hele: Missa "Nigra sum"

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Mary Altarpiece (Miraflores Altarpiece)
c. 1440
Oil on oak panel, 71 x 43 cm (each)
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

1321*700
True Color
195 Kb



Miraflores Altarpiece (left panel)
c. 1440
Oil on oak panel, 71 x 43 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

582*921
True Color
144 Kb



Miraflores Altarpiece (central panel)
c. 1440
Oil on oak panel, 71 x 43 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

587*958
True Color
133 Kb



Miraflores Altarpiece (right panel)
c. 1440
Oil on oak panel, 71 x 43 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

581*927
True Color
125 Kb



Miraflores Altarpiece (detail)
c. 1440
Oil on oak panel
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

950*1103
True Color
181 Kb




Summary of works by Rogier van der Weyden
Altarpieces
Deposition | St Luke Madonna | Annunciation | Miraflores
7 Sacraments | Crucifixion | Bladelin (Middelburg) | Beaune
Braque | St Columba | St John | Various altarpieces
Portraits
Portrait diptychs | Individual portraits
Single panels
Pietŕs | Various | Fragments, copies of last works
Graphics