![Saint Barbara [left wing exterior] by Master of the Starck Triptych](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Master_of_the_Starck_Triptych%2C_Saint_Barbara_(left_wing_exterior)%2C_c._1480-1490%2C_NGA_102630.jpg&width=1200)
Saint Barbara [left wing exterior]
Master of the Starck Triptych·c. 1480/1490
Historical Context
The exterior panel of Saint Barbara from the Starck Triptych completes the altarpiece's exterior program, pairing with Saint Catherine on the other wing. Barbara and Catherine were among the most popular female saints in Northern European devotion, both being learned, noble women who suffered martyrdom. Their presence on the altarpiece exterior provided intercessory figures for daily prayer when the triptych was closed.
Technical Analysis
The oil-on-panel technique matches the companion Saint Catherine panel in restrained coloring and precise draftsmanship. The careful rendering of Barbara's traditional attribute of the tower reflects the Cologne school's attention to iconographic detail.
Provenance
Member of the Starck family, Nuremberg. John (Talbot?), 16th Earl of Shrewsbury [1791-1852], Alton Tower; gift 1839 to St. Mary's College, Oscott, England; sold through (Julius H. Weitzner [1896-1968], London) to (French & Co., New York), by 1976; purchased 1997 by NGA.
![The Raising of the Cross [center, left, and right panels] by Master of the Starck Triptych](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Master_of_the_Starck_Triptych%2C_The_Raising_of_the_Cross_(center%2C_left%2C_and_right_panels)%2C_c._1480-1490%2C_NGA_102628.jpg&width=600)
![Saint Catherine [right wing exterior] by Master of the Starck Triptych](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Master_of_the_Starck_Triptych%2C_Saint_Catherine_(right_wing_exterior)%2C_c._1480-1490%2C_NGA_102629.jpg&width=600)
