Stein Quadriptych of Simon Bening
The Stein Quadriptych by Simon Bening
Four pictorial panels, each with a gold-plated wooden frame measuring 33.8 x 27 cm, comprise a total of 64 superb miniatures by the great master in a format of 7.2 x 5.3 cm. In this compactness, the Stein Quadriptych has remained unique right through to the present day. Across a tiny area, it reveals Bening’s entire panoply of skills – a man revered even during his lifetime as “Europe’s unrivalled master illuminator”.
SIMON BENING – THE APOTHEOSIS OF ILLUMINATION
Bening can indisputably be seen as a synonym for illumination. No one else comes close to him in this regard. His clients and customers included secular and clerical rulers, kings and emperors who regarded the Ghent-Bruges School as the apogee and inimitable guarantor of supreme book painting – at a time when handwritten books were already being superseded by Gutenberg’s printing press. Illumination reached its apotheosis with Simon Bening.
AN EPIC ACCOUNT OF THE LIFEOF CHRIST IN PICTURES
The first panel begins with an illustration of the legend of the Virgin Mary before going on to describe the birth and childhood of Jesus. The subsequent panel presents 16 paintings, heightened with gold, which lead us from Christ’s baptism in the River Jordan to his being mocked in the events leading to the Crucifixion. The viewer then experiences the Passion and Death on the Cross in bold, very lurid colours. The pictures on the final panel begin with Christ being taken down from the Cross and continue through until the miracle of Pentecost before returning, almost as a bookend to the life of the Blessed Virgin, to Mary’s death and her ascension into heaven. The cycle concludes with the Last Judgement.
64 IMAGES FULL OF EMOTION
The 64 miniatures are full of iconographic subtleties and ambiguities. They point to a painstaking representation of objects taken from daily life. Above all, the miniatures represent a striking form of vivacity and liveliness conveyed in powerful emotions, in gestures and facial expressions. The story of Jesus is told so expressively that its visual composition leads the viewer to a deeper understanding of the miracle of Christ’s resurrection. What’s more, Bening’s hand is clearly also able to express the human aspect underpinning the story of Jesus’ life and the self-sacrifice of the Passion.
FOR WHOM WAS IT CREATED – AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE?
The 64 magnificent single pictures were painted on parchment between 1523 and 1526, but the origin and passage through history of these images and their four splendid altarpiece panels remain obscure. Were the pictures initially conceived as illustrations for a prayerbook or devotional volume? However, no suitable text of that time is known. Or might these little works of art have been intenden to be collected as loose leaves in an album – which would confirm this very unusual state of preservation?
OUT OF THE DARK ...
The only certainty is that the panels – already in their present form – emerged from the darkness of history in 1886, when the collection of the Paris art dealer Charles Stein was sold. The date when the panels were assembled in the way they are today, is still unknown; but they were probably not compiled like this originally. Studies have shown that the wooden frames around the miniatures were made using a technique that became possible only towards the end of the 19th century.
In 1888, the miniatures were shown in a Brussels exhibition. They then disappeared again from the public eye. Probably they came into the possession of a private collector. It was only in 1913, on April 13, that they reappeared in the possession of the railroad magnate Henry Walters in Baltimore.
Characteristics
The Stein Quadriptych by Simon Bening | |
| Format | Each table 33,8 x 27 cm, each miniature 7,2 x 5,3 cm |
| Limitation | 800 numbered copies worldwide |
| Binding | Each table in gilded wooden frame |
| Publisher | Faksimile Verlag |
| Item Number | 71002 |
Info Data
The Stein Quadriptych by Simon Bening | |
| Creation Year | 1523 - 1526 |
| Place of Origin | Flanders |
| Library | Walters Art Museum, Baltimore |
| Signature | W 442 |
| Extent | 4 driptych |
| Miniatures | 64 miniatures |
| Type of Manuscript | Manuscript |
| Genre | miniatures |
Questions and Answers
Comprising 64 miniatures arranged on four panels within gilded wooden frames, this artwork is unmatched in its density and presentation, standing as a singular masterpiece of medieval illumination.
Simon Bening was hailed during his lifetime as the finest illuminator in Europe. He epitomised the peak of manuscript painting just as the printing press was beginning to dominate.
The panels portray a vivid visual narrative of Christ’s life – from Marian legends and the Nativity to the Crucifixion, Pentecost, and the Last Judgement – forming an epic cycle of Christian imagery.
The images combine detailed iconography with emotionally expressive figures and everyday objects, offering both theological insight and human depth to the story of Christ.
Their original purpose remains uncertain – they may have been planned as part of a devotional book or collected as standalone sheets. Their current framed form likely dates from the late 19th century.
It first appeared in 1886 during the sale of Parisian art dealer Charles Stein’s collection, later vanishing again before resurfacing in 1913 in a shipment to American railway magnate Henry Walters.
Analysis has shown that the wooden frames were made using a technique not available until the late 19th century, indicating they were added long after the miniatures were painted.
