Two Northern Works for the Parliament of Toulouse
At the end of the 15th Century, Toulouse attracted a number of artists of Northern origin, some on their way to Spain. In the example of the Descente de croix (Descent from the Cross), the iconography and costumes would seem to indicate a Dutch artist whose work was either imported or painted locally before it was placed in the chapel of the Parliament of Toulouse.
Another work reflects the exchanges between Toulouse and the Low Countries towards the middle of the 16th Century: the Histoire de saint Jean-Baptiste (Story of St John the Baptist). This work with its jigsaw cut, which represents the baptism of St John the Baptist, is in fact the central panel of a triptych which has been in Toulouse for many years, because it comes from the chapel of the Parliament of Toulouse. The birth and death of the saint are painted on both the front and back of the side panels, so the story of his life unfolds as it would when a book is opened, from left to right. Only the central panel is exhibited here.
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