From May 17th until August 31st 2014, a rare panel by the anonymous Master of the legend of Saint-Anne will be on show in the Keizerskapel in Antwerpen. This 16th century church is dedicated to Saint-Anne since the beginning of the 19th century.
The painting represents The Holy Family with Saint-Anne and Saint-Joachim (panel, 43,1 x 29,4 cm). A second version is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tournai.
In 1975, on occasion of the exhibition ‘Gent, Duizend jaar Kunst en Cultuur’, a number of related late medieval paintings were confronted with each other for the first time. Some of them with clear Gent origin and most of them representing scenes with Saint-Anne. Which led to the creation of the anonymous Master of the legend of Saint-Anne by CODART-member dr. Jean-Pierre De Bruyn.
Several paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts in Gent, in Tournai, in Lisbon and in Philadelphia could be classified under Master of the legend of Saint-Anne or his circle. Although not much is known about him, he definitely underwent the influence of Gent-based Hugo van der Goes and was active about 1480-1510.
The reason for inviting this unknown painting to the Keizerskapel in Antwerpen is obvious: it is not only by the ‘Anne-master’, it also represents Saint-Anne and is on show in a chapel consecrated to Saint-Anne. Last but not least the chapel dates from the same period.
An illustrated catalogue is available.