Retable with Scenes from the Life of Saint Andrew

Retable with Scenes from the Life of Saint Andrew

Master of Roussillon

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the central panel, Saint Andrew—apostle, brother of Saint Peter, and disciple of Saint John the Baptist—sits holding his attribute, a cross, which is more commonly represented in the form of an X. Above are the Virgin and Child surrounded by saints and angels. The flanking panels depict important events in Saint Andrew’s life, while the scenes in the predella below are devoted to a number of more obscure episodes. The center panel represents Christ as the Man of Sorrows. The panel on the right has been lost. A rectangular section in the lower part of the main panel with the seated Saint Andrew was cut out, perhaps to hold a reliquary, and has been replaced with an inpainted panel. This altar is thought to be the major work of an anonymous artist who was influenced by Lluís Borrassà (active 1380–1424/5) and is known as the Master of Roussillon, after the region in which he worked.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Retable with Scenes from the Life of Saint AndrewRetable with Scenes from the Life of Saint AndrewRetable with Scenes from the Life of Saint AndrewRetable with Scenes from the Life of Saint AndrewRetable with Scenes from the Life of Saint Andrew

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.