Saint Michael Presenting a Donor to Christ as Salvator Mundi
Southern Netherlands
ca. 1400–1410 · Tempera and gold leaf on parchment · Robert Lehman Collection
This miniature from an unidentified manuscript is stylistically comparable to a group of works thought to have been produced in Bruges in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. While the depiction of Christ as "Salvator Mundi" (Savior of the World) was popular in parts of the Netherlands at the time, the presence of Saint Michael and a donor in this leaf—alluding to the Last Judgment—evidently is unique. The palette and the arrangement of figures are carefully calibrated: Saint Michael’s bright red shield plays a pivotal role, protecting the donor from the toothy jaws of the dragon, establishing his position in the background, and underscoring his suppliant status before Christ.
- Artist
- Southern Netherlands
- Date
- ca. 1400–1410
- Medium
- Tempera and gold leaf on parchment
- Culture
- Southern Netherlands, probably Bruges
- Department
- Robert Lehman Collection
- Credit line
- Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
