Three Female Witnesses

Saint Bavo's family followed him out of the world. His sisters Gertrude and Begga, the two women here in gold crowns, became nuns after their brother became a monk, and this narrow panel was Rubens's design for the left wing of the altarpiece he was planning for Ghent's cathedral. Gertrude tips her head back and raises her eyes, her hand on her long gold necklace, about to take it off, just as her brother gives away his wealth in the central scene. The woman in the white headdress beside them may be Bavo's daughter. Rubens used thick, quick strokes for the embroidered gowns, while the people on the staircase behind are only blurs of colour. Down below, among the poor waiting for coins, a baby clings to its mother's head with a finger in its mouth, and a little dog jumps up at Begga's feet.