The Gathering of the Manna

The Master of the Gathering of the Manna takes his name from this panel and was likely a Flemish or Netherlandish painter active around 1460–1490. The Gathering of the Manna — Israel's miraculous food in the wilderness — was a standard Old Testament type for the Eucharist, and its inclusion in altarpiece programmes connected the Hebrew scriptures to the central mystery of Catholic worship. Typological pairings of Old Testament prefigurations with New Testament fulfillments were a structuring principle of late medieval altarpiece theology.

The composition shows the Israelite figures in various postures of collection, the manna rendered as small white globules falling from the sky — a descriptive challenge the Master meets with workmanlike competence. The landscape setting follows Flemish conventions of the period. Figure types and spatial organisation reflect the Flemish tradition of Rogier's generation, with careful attention to gesture variety.