About this artwork
These panels formed part of one of the most important altarpieces ever painted for a Scottish chapel, and are thought to have been the wings of a triptych. The work was commissioned by Edward Bonkil, Provost of the Collegiate Chapel of the Holy Trinity in Edinburgh. (The chapel was demolished in 1848 to make way for Waverley Station.) The missing central panel possibly showed the Virgin and Child Enthroned, and may have been destroyed during the Reformation. When open, the wings show a devout King James III with his elder son and his queen Margaret of Denmark, accompanied by Saint Andrew and Saint George. The lion rampant on the king’s coat of arms is reversed in deference to the holy figures on the missing central panel. The closed wings feature a vision of the Holy Trinity appearing to the kneeling Edward Bonkil.
Audio commentary
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Updated before 2020
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artist:Hugo van der Goes (died 1482) Netherlandish
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title:The Trinity Altarpiece
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date created:About 1478 - 1479
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materials:Oil on panel
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measurements:Each panel: 202.00 x 100.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Lent by His Majesty the King
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accession number:[NG 1772]
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
Hugo van der Goes
Hugo van der Goes
Hugo van der Goes developed an international reputation during a relatively short career. He was born in Ghent, where he established a successful workshop before entering a monastery near Brussels as a lay-brother. He continued to paint there, but was deeply disturbed by the thought of failing to...