The Virgin Triptych (Macrino d'Alba)
The Virgin Triptych, one of the earliest acquisitions in Italian art to enter the collection of the Städel Museum, has just been restored, thanks to the support of the
BNP Paribas Foundation and BNP Paribas in Germany.
Executed in 1495 by Macrino d'Alba (1470-1528), an Italian artist born in Alba in the Piedmont, this altarpiece is made of three panels representing the Madonna Enthroned, St Joachim and the Angel and the Meeting at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem. Ordered by a religious congregation for their chapel in the Franciscan church of Alba, the triptych reflects the story of the miraculous pregnancy of the aged couple Anne and Joachim, the Virgin's parents. Ever since its acquisition, Macrino's panels and their frame, richly decorated and also restored, have been a characteristic example for a complete altarpiece from the later Quattrocento. Now it is restored, the altarpiece becomes a centrepiece among the Italian galleries of the museum.
This restoration is part of the BNP Paribas for the Art programme, which has permitted to restore more than two hundred pieces of art since it started, and shows the bank's commitment to preserving museum's cultural heritage in France and abroad.
BNP Paribas Foundation and BNP Paribas in Germany.
Executed in 1495 by Macrino d'Alba (1470-1528), an Italian artist born in Alba in the Piedmont, this altarpiece is made of three panels representing the Madonna Enthroned, St Joachim and the Angel and the Meeting at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem. Ordered by a religious congregation for their chapel in the Franciscan church of Alba, the triptych reflects the story of the miraculous pregnancy of the aged couple Anne and Joachim, the Virgin's parents. Ever since its acquisition, Macrino's panels and their frame, richly decorated and also restored, have been a characteristic example for a complete altarpiece from the later Quattrocento. Now it is restored, the altarpiece becomes a centrepiece among the Italian galleries of the museum.
This restoration is part of the BNP Paribas for the Art programme, which has permitted to restore more than two hundred pieces of art since it started, and shows the bank's commitment to preserving museum's cultural heritage in France and abroad.