The National Gallery has secured a breathtaking yet enigmatic early 16th-century Northern Renaissance altarpiece, unseen by the public since 1960. Titled The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret, this extraordinary work—purchased for £16.4 million through a private treaty sale brokered by Sotheby’s—joins the Gallery’s collection as part of its 200th-anniversary celebrations. The acquisition was made possible with support from the American Friends of the National Gallery.
Dating to around 1510, the painting’s origins remain hotly debated. Scholars cannot agree whether the artist was Netherlandish or French, nor has any name been conclusively attached to it. Yet its brilliance is undeniable—proof of how anonymity in Renaissance art can still yield works of staggering quality.
At its heart, the Virgin and Child sit enthroned in an open-air chapel, flanked by Saint Louis of France, resplendent in fleur-de-lis robes, and Saint Margaret, emerging triumphantly from the shattered shell of a slobbering dragon. Two mischievous angels complete the scene—one strumming a mouth harp, the other clutching a songbook inscribed with the Marian hymn Ave Regina Caelorum. The musical notation, whimsically rendered, adds to the painting’s eccentric charm.
Every inch of the panel teems with inventive detail. Sombre touches—like the bare wooden steps studded with nails—hint at Christ’s future sacrifice. Playful elements abound too, from the unruly child mooning viewers from a column capital to the dragon’s comically exaggerated grimace. The historiated capitals behind the saints mix biblical scenes (Noah’s drunkenness, Cain and Abel) with bawdy vignettes rarely seen in sacred art.
Stylistically, the work bridges influences. The dramatic foreshortening of faces recalls early Jan Gossaert, while its luminous textures pay homage to Netherlandish masters like Van Eyck and Van der Goes. Yet the monumental figures and strong shadows evoke French painters such as Jean Hey, the Master of Moulins. Dendrochronology dates the Baltic oak panel to after 1483, while Saint Louis’s Order of Saint Michael collar—modified in 1516—suggests a completion date before then.
First recorded in 1602 at the Premonstratensian Abbey of Drongen near Ghent, the altarpiece’s original purpose remains unclear. A drawing by Antonio de Succa mistakenly identified Saints Louis and Margaret as royal portraits, hinting at its early misinterpretation. The abbey’s veneration of Saint Louis—who granted them the fleur-de-lis emblem—and a later altar dedication to Margaret suggest the painting may have held special significance there. A swan, the monastery’s heraldic symbol, even lurks among the pilaster carvings.
This acquisition follows other major additions to the Gallery’s bicentenary roster, including works by Alma-Tadema, Poussin, and Eva Gonzalès. Emma Capron, the National Gallery’s Curator of Early Netherlandish and German Paintings, calls it a “rare and thrilling discovery”—one that defies the art world’s obsession with big names.
From May 10, visitors can marvel at this masterpiece in the gallery’s rehang, marking the reopening of the transformed Sainsbury Wing. Who painted it? The mystery endures—but its power to astonish is undeniable.
The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret (c. 1510) oil on oak, 122.2 x 105.8 cm Acquired with support from the American Friends of the National Gallery, 2025