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Epoch Times
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Epoch Times
Mystery Surrounds This Rare Altarpiece
Art experts remain baffled by a 16th-century altarpiece titled 'The Virgin and Child With Saints Louis and Margaret.' The National Gallery, London recently acquired the devotional work for 16.4 million pounds (around $21.7 million). The American Friends of the National Gallery, London helped fund the acquisition. Members of the public will be able to view the altarpiece for the first time in over 60 years, when the gallery displays it starting May 10. They'll also learn some of the surprising elements in the work that explain why its artist remains a mystery. 'The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret,' circa 1510, by an unknown Netherlandish or French painter. Oil on oak wood; 48 1/8 inches by 41 5/8 inches. Bought with the support of the American Friends of the National Gallery, London, 2025. National Gallery, London. Copyright The National Gallery, London The Altarpiece The artist rendered an open-air chapel, with the king of France St. Louis, St. Margaret, and two angel musicians flanking the enthroned Virgin and Christ. The Virgin is full of grace. She's dressed in red, symbolic of her humility and earthly presence. She gently holds a flower between her thumb and forefinger. Christ sits on her lap, toying with a goldfinch, a common pet in medieval times and an art motif symbolizing the goldfinch that plucked a thorn from Christ's crown of thorns at Calvary. St. Louis appears lifelike; it could almost be his portrait. He wears blue robes embroidered with gold fleur-de-lis emblems and the collar of the Order of St. Michael, a French dynastic order of chivalry. The pious St. Margaret ascends from the stomach of the dragon, which swallowed her. Both her poise and opulent gown belies her terrifying ordeal. She holds a jewel-encrusted cross, perhaps symbolizing her faith and the sign of the cross she made that allowed her miraculous escape. Related Stories 4/2/2020 5/25/2023 The angel beside plays the mouth harp, the other holds a hymn book open at 'Ave regina caelorum, Mater regis angelorum' ('Hail, queen of heaven, Mother of the king of angels.') The painter rendered artistic rather than accurate musical notations for the score. Delightful and Peculiar Details The artist deftly rendered exquisite details: the double knots in St. Louis's chain, the gems on St. Margaret's cross, and the sunlight sweeping across her cheek. He also included unusual elements. The figures on St. Louis's spectre may symbolize the Last Judgment, an odd theme for metalwork at the time. St. Margaret's sequined hairnet, her daisy crown, and the bird are all unusual. The bird could refer to the bird that descended from heaven to crown Margaret in 'The Golden Legend,' a collection of 153 hagiographies (biographies of saints) written by Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa Jacobus de Voragine between 1250 and 1280. Of course, the altarpiece abounds with biblical references. Carved into the capitals of the open-air chapel are episodes from the Old Testament: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, The Grapes of Canaan, and The Drunkenness of Noah. Of particular interest are the stark wooden steps and nailheads that lead to the enthroned Virgin and Child; they may symbolize Christ's crucifixion. According to the gallery, 'No other example of such imagery is known to survive.' Understanding the Altarpiece The altarpiece was first documented in 1602, in Drongen Abbey in Ghent, modern-day Belgium. It's uncertain whether the altarpiece was commissioned for the abbey, but there are several striking connections: The monastery's coat-of-arms include the fleur-de-lis and a swan (which is painted on the right pilaster). In addition, in 1608, the monks consecrated the abbey's altar dedicated to the Virgin and St. Margaret. Experts believe a French or Netherlandish artist painted the work around 1510. They favor the Netherlandish artist attribution because the oak wood for the panel was sourced from the Baltic area; French artists preferred painting on local wood panels. According to the gallery, 'The panel's overall eccentricity and the dramatically foreshortened faces of the saints and angels are reminiscent of the early work of Jan Gossaert (active 1508; died 1532). … The composition and versatile execution—alternating smoothly painted areas and minute details with more dynamic passages—also pay homage to the Netherlandish tradition of Jan van Eyck (active 1422; died 1441) and Hugo van der Goes (active 1467; died 1482). The overall sense of plasticity, monumentality, and the strong shadows recall the work of French painters like Jean Hey (Master of Moulins) (active 1482; died after 1504.)' Whoever painted the altarpiece remains a mystery for now. For the art lovers and the faithful, it is, in all certainty, a glorious work of devotion. 'The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret' will be displayed at the National Gallery, London starting May 10. To find out more, visit What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? 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Los Angeles Times
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Pacifica Christian boys' soccer earns first league title
Pacifica Christian had never been much for soccer, its admittedly mediocre boys' teams mostly ignored in the shadow of the Newport Beach school's powerhouse boys' basketball program. Short on players, short on results, little prestige. Meet the new Tritons, who punctuated their first league championship run with a measured 3-1 victory Tuesday afternoon over Santa Ana's Magnolia Science Academy, ensuring sole possession of an Academy League crown they'd never before considered possible. Sophomore Dylan Streiff created the penalty kick for Pacifica Christian's first goal, then nodded home Reed Cleary's precise free kick for the second in a comeback triumph that lifted the Tritons (10-6-3, 7-1-2 in the Academy League) five points clear of second-place Tarbut V'Torah (8-2-4, 5-2-3), the only Academy side they failed to conquer. 'Pacifica's never been a team to do that, to win a league championship,' said Cleary, the Tritons' senior back-line marshal, free kick specialist and long throw-in menace. 'To come this far and to go through this many [seasons] without winning, finally winning feels really good.' Credit head coach Johnny Marmelstein arrived in 2022 as the school's first dean of students and, with some prompting, agreed to take charge of the soccer team. He was a decorated coach with three-plus decades' experience, guiding eight teams into CIF finals and winning two Southern Section titles with Palos Verdes Peninsula Chadwick's boys and four with St. Margaret's girls. St. Margaret's, in his 19-year tenure's final game, captured a 2019 state championship. 'When I came here, I wasn't sure I wanted to coach, because I'd done pretty much everything,' he said. 'My wife, Lara, was the one that really convinced me. She said, 'You know, Johnny, they could really use your help.' And that's all it took. She knows I'm a coach at heart, and that I love coaching. ... 'I'm so happy that I didn't miss this. This was worth it. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't mean a whole lot. There's a lot of stuff going on in the world that's way more important than a high school soccer game. But for this moment and this time, it was great for these guys to win this.' The Tritons went 5-11-3 in Marmelstein's first season but reached the playoffs for the first time since their 2019 postseason debut, then last year posted the program's first winning record, at 14-9-1. Wild-card losses ended both campaigns. 'The first year, we just worked our tails off,' Marmelstein said. 'I'd never missed the playoffs in the winter time, and I thought we weren't going to make it. We managed to get in, and then we got hammered and said, 'Hey, we got to build on this. That's what we've got to look like.' ... 'We changed the mindset. For whatever reason, the guys on the soccer team didn't think anybody cared about the sport or them. It's untrue, but they felt that way. It was bringing coaches in that build them up and care about them ... get the guys used to playing harder and faster and tougher. ... Last year, we had our first winning season; I thought we were a year away from that. So I thought a league championship's within reach.' Pacifica Christian prevailed through a five-game unbeaten streak, wins in the last four, after a Jan. 21 loss to Tarbut V'Torah left it seven points behind in the standings. Two games in hand helped, and successive TVT losses last week opened the gate. The Tritons caught up at 17 points on Jan. 28, with a 1-0 win at Avalon on Cleary's goal, and clinched a share of the title with Thursday's 2-0 victory over Legacy College Prep, with goals by Jordan Balbuena and Shaun Sandhu. The Southern Section playoff pairings will be announced Saturday, with Pacifica Christian expected to be placed in Division 7 or the new Division 8. A first-round victory would be the program's second, following the first by six years. They're a fast, tall counterattacking team that can build through possession, expert at exploiting space in the attacking third through Streiff, Sandhu and John Peterson IV, all sophomores, and junior catalyst Aiden Lynch, who can drive the attack in the middle or from the flanks. The 'heart' of the team, Cleary says, foundational holding midfielders Balbuena and Abraham Abbasi. Owen Macpherson partners Cleary in central defense ahead of transformative freshman goalkeeper Kasper Batley, with fellow senior Devin Wang at left back and sophomore Cruz Alarcon on the right. Pacifica Christian started slowly Tuesday on Vanguard University's expansive field, and Magnolia Science Academy (6-5-3, 4-3-3), headed to the playoffs as the Academy's No. 3 team, took advantage of a turnover in the box in the 10th minute, an easy finish for Alper Keskinturk. The Tritons, who had the better of play the rest of the way, pulled even nine minutes later. Streiff made a weaving 30-yard run, then played a give-and-go with Sandhu and went down in a tussle with Pirates defender Edgar Cuevas reaching for the return pass. Abbasi put the PK away. Streiff provided a lead in the 34th minute, towering to get his head to Cleary's serve from the left flank. Lynch's cross from the right flank produced an own goal in the 61st minute. The most riveting strike — Sandhu's 58th-minute blast to the right-side netting from a 50-yard run through several defenders — didn't count: The linesman's flag was raised, the ball having crossed out of bounds early on Sandhu's sprint. The playoffs are another step in the program's evolution, and, Marmelstein said, 'We're going to see what happens.' 'What is it that Jim Harbaugh said? Number one, play hard. Number two, win a game. Number three, win two games in a row. Number four, win a championship. We're on that trajectory. We still have a long way to go, but the guys, they've really stepped up.'
