THE ALTARPIECE OF THE SAINTS

OBSERVATIONS 

The similarities observed by Bart Fransen regarding the poses and characteristics of Saints Peter and Paul as compared to some of the Apostles on the predella of the Laredo altarpiece are due to the fact that both were surely inspired by and based on some monumental apostolate that has, unfortunately, since disappeared from the Cathedral of San Miguel and Saint Gudula in Brussels. A possible reproduction of the same seen in a painting depicting the Exhumation of Saint Hubert, by Roger van der Weyden (National Gallery, London) served to substantiate this theory that was originally put forward by Steyaert while, at the same time, permits us to establish the source of the Covarrubias altarpiece as having its origins in the same town in Belgium.

In the same way, the relationship between the brocade of Saint Peter and those ones detected in other pieces originally from Brussels, corroborate the possible date and source of the piece.