Birth of the Virgin

This panel originally formed part of a large altarpiece illustrating the birth and life of the Virgin Mary. It was probably placed with eleven other paintings (six of which are known) around a central panel or panels dedicated to her. In the moulded niches on the left (part of the framework of the original altarpiece) are shown the prophets Elijah (above) and Amos (below), who foretold - and whose lives prefigured - the story of the Virgin and the birth of Christ. The Virgin's father, Joachim, was a rich man, so the clothing and furnishings are those of a wealthy 15th-century family. The bedspread has been painted in red over gold and punched to give the effect of a shimmering gold-weave pattern. The artist is thought to have been the so-called Retascón Master, named after an altarpiece in the village of Retascón in southern Aragon, Spain. He was probably trained by the immigrant German painter, Andrés Marzal de Sas, whose style is characterised by the same severe, angular faces and long necks as seen here.