The Nativity Triptych
1443 - 1448. Tempera on panel.Room 052A
This triptych is by a northern painter who trained in the International Gothic style and was familiar with Netherlandish painting. The central panel depicts the Nativity; on the left are the Birth of the Virgin and the Assumption of the Virgin; and on the right the Presentation in the Temple and the Adoration of the Magi. On the reverse of the wing panels are Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint James the Greater on the left, and Saint Dominic and Saint John the Baptist on the right. The triptych was in the monastery of Nuestra Señora de Portaceli in Zarzoso (Salamanca), founded in 1444 by don Gómez de Benavides. The presence of the coats-of-arms of the Zúñiga and Osorio families suggests that it was not originally intended for that monastery.
