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The ''Saint Stephen Triptych'' is a 1616–1617 oil on panel painting by Peter Paul Rubens, produced as the high
The ''Saint Stephen Triptych'' is a 1616–1617 oil on panel painting by Peter Paul Rubens, produced as the high altarpiece
An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...
for Saint-Amand Abbey, a Benedictine house near Valenciennes. It was seized during the French Revolution and is now in the Musée des Beaux Arts de Valenciennes.
The central panel shows ''The Stoning of Saint Stephen'', whilst the main images on the two side panels show ''The Preaching of Saint Stephen'' and ''The Burial of Saint Stephen''. When closed, the reverse of the two side panels form an Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
scene. Jacob Nicolas Moreau
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...
, a traveller during the reign of Louis XV, mentioned the altarpiece, stating "I believed I saw the heavens opened, so much was I struck by the beauty of the colouring and by the freshness of this admirable painting".
Sources
* {{ACArt Paintings in the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes 1616 paintings 1617 paintings Altarpieces Paintings by Peter Paul Rubens Paintings of Saint Stephen