THE THREE WISE MEN ALTARPIECE

OBSERVATIONS 

The peculiarities of this altarpiece within the late stage of Flemish altarpiece production are due to the reduction of the iconographic narration to one single, beautifully developed scene surrounded by an architectural frame that makes this particular work closely resemble similar altarpieces made in local workshops. This leads us to think that the altarpiece was made in response to a very specific demand in which the person who commissioned the piece established certain conditions that had to be complied with, resulting in this truly singular work. A lowered arch topped with a canopy crowned with a ceiling rose slightly protrudes from the altarpiece. This might well have served as the frame for an old tomb or earlier altarpiece.