The Birth and Naming of Saint John the Baptist; (reverse) Trompe-l'oeil with Painting of The Man of Sorrows. Artist: Bernard van Orley (Netherlandish, Brussels ca. 1492-1541/42 Brussels). Dimensions: 25 x 30 in. (63.5 x 76.2 cm). Date: ca. 1514-15. This panel once formed the left wing of an altarpiece dedicated to Saint John the Baptist that was commissioned by abbot Jacques Coëne for the Benedictine Abbey Church in Marchiennes, near Tournai. It depicts Saint Elizabeth in bed, shortly after giving birth to the newborn saint. Zacharias appears at the entrance to her room, carrying a scroll whi

The Birth and Naming of Saint John the Baptist; (reverse) Trompe-l'oeil with Painting of The Man of Sorrows. Artist: Bernard van Orley (Netherlandish, Brussels ca. 1492-1541/42 Brussels). Dimensions: 25 x 30 in. (63.5 x 76.2 cm). Date: ca. 1514-15. This panel once formed the left wing of an altarpiece dedicated to Saint John the Baptist that was commissioned by abbot Jacques Coëne for the Benedictine Abbey Church in Marchiennes, near Tournai. It depicts Saint Elizabeth in bed, shortly after giving birth to the newborn saint. Zacharias appears at the entrance to her room, carrying a scroll which declares his son's name will be John. The pendant (in a private collection) shows the moment after the Baptist's death, when Salome receives his head on a platter. The centerpiece of the triptych, likely a sculpture of the Baptism of Christ, has not survived. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.