Melun Diptych is an diptych

Diptych

A diptych di "two" + ptychē "fold") is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. Devices of this form were quite popular in the ancient world, wax tablets being coated with wax on inner faces, for recording notes and for measuring time and direction.In Late Antiquity, ivory diptychs with...

 created by Jean Fouquet

Jean Fouquet

Jean Fouquet was a preeminent French painter of the 15th century, a master of both panel painting and manuscript illumination, and the apparent inventor of the portrait miniature. He was the first French artist to travel to Italy and experience at first hand the Italian Early...

. Commissioned by Etienne Chevalier

Étienne Chevalier

Étienne Chevalier was a major civil servant of the French kings Charles VII and Louis XI. He is also notable for commissioning two major works by Jean Fouquet - the Melun Diptych and the Hours of Étienne Chevalier Étienne Chevalier (c.1410, Melun - 1474) was a major civil servant of the French...

 for the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame

Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Melun

The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame is a church in the French town of Melun, on rue de la Courtille on the île Saint-Etienne. Formerly a collegiate church, it was founded between 1016 and 1031 by Robert II of France. Until around 1775 it housed the 1450 Melun Diptych and in 1840 it was made a...

 and completed in 1450, one wing currently hangs in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, the other in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

The Gemäldegalerie is an art museum in Berlin, Germany. It holds one of the world's leading collections of European art from the 13th to the 18th centuries. It is located on Kulturforum west of Potsdamer Platz. Its collection includes masterpieces from such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

The name of the diptych came from the its original home in the Melun

Melun

Melun is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Located in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, Melun is the capital of the department, as the seat of an arrondissement...

 cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

. The left wing depicts Etienne Chevalier

Étienne Chevalier

Étienne Chevalier was a major civil servant of the French kings Charles VII and Louis XI. He is also notable for commissioning two major works by Jean Fouquet - the Melun Diptych and the Hours of Étienne Chevalier Étienne Chevalier (c.1410, Melun - 1474) was a major civil servant of the French...

 with his patron saint St. Stephen while the right wing shows Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels . The model for the Virgin is a recognizable portrait of Agnès Sorel

Agnès Sorel

Agnès Sorel , known by the sobriquet Dame de beauté, was a favourite mistress of King Charles VII of France, for whom she bore three daughters....

, King Charles VII

Charles VII of France

Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...

's mistress.

Further reading

• Paul R. Wescher, Jean Fouquet and His Times (1945; trans. 1947)
• Trenchard Cox, Jehan Foucquet, Native of Tours (1931)
• Klaus G. Perls, Jean Fouquet (1939; trans. 1940)