Two donors from a wing of an altarpiece

The Master of the Legend of the Magdalene painted these two donors from an altarpiece wing around 1515. Donor portraits served the dual purpose of documenting patrons for posterity while placing them in perpetual prayer before the sacred scenes they financed. His refined, somewhat conservative style reflects the high standards of Brussels panel painting for church and aristocratic commissions. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique.

The panel shows the Brussels workshop's precise portrait technique with careful rendering of physiognomy and costume details that documented the donors' social standing.