Name of Object:

Altar panel with Mary Magdalene and John the Baptist

Location:

Zurich, Switzerland

Holding Museum:

Swiss National Museum

Date:

1506

Type of object:

Painting

Artists:

Master of the violets

Museum Inventory Number:

DEP-841

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Egg tempera on spruce

Dimensions:

H: 97.6cm, W: 121.5cm

Provenance:

«Spanweid» chapel Zurich, Switzerland

Description:

In the Middle Ages, lepers were segregated from the rest of society in lazarettos. In Zurich, these were located outside the city walls, close to running water, and had a chapel of their own. The St. Moritz lazaretto, which was built on the Spanweid in 1364, housed destitute lepers. The chapel received a new altarpiece in 1506. The inside of the panels depicts St. Mary Magdalene in costly fashionable clothing with a pouch and a cutlery holder. She is holding an open pot of ointment and promising the lepers hope of healing.

Current Owner:

Zentralbibliothek Zurich

How date and origin were established:

Documents

How Object was obtained:

Permanent loan from the Zentralbibliothek Zurich as part of the «Morgengabe»

Citation of this web page:

 "Altar panel with Mary Magdalene and John the Baptist" in MWNF GALLERIES , Museum With No Frontiers, 2019. http://www.museumwnf.org/thematicgallery/thg_galleries/database_item.php?itemId=objects;GALLERIES;sw;Mus01;36;en&id=paintings

MWNF Working Number: CH_GAL_036