The Family of Saint Anne, ca. 1500 - ca. 1510

In the central panel we see St Anne seated on a richly decorated throne. According to Christian tradition, Anne was married three times. Her husbands are portrayed to her left and right. Her union with St Joachim produced Mary, Jesus’ mother. Mary sits with her Child at her mother’s feet. Seated on the right is Mary’s husband, Joseph, with a flowering staff in his hand. On the side panels are Anne’s daughters from her two other marriages, together with their husbands and children. The veneration of St Anne reached its climax around 1500, especially in the Netherlands. However, her roots lie far deeper and go back to the pre-Christian fertility cult and the veneration of the Great Mother. The triptych is ascribed to the Master of St Anne and comes from the former Beguinage of St Autbert (Poortakker) in Ghent. The figures are realistically portrayed. However, the use of gold, the flat background with rose bushes and the inscriptions with the names of the saints tend to make the work archaic.