Triptych of Mary and Child with Saints Andrew and Francis

Around 1520, Bruges was a town of devotional pictures, and this is one of the small folding kind, made for private prayer at home rather than a church wall. Open it and the Virgin sits in the centre with the Christ Child. The two wings carry a saint each — Andrew, the apostle, leaning on the slanted cross of his death, and Francis of Assisi in his friar's habit. Those two were most likely chosen by whoever ordered the triptych, often the owner's name-saints. Shut, the wings folded over the painting and protected it, which is partly why so many survive. The panels stand only about 30 centimetres high, light enough to set on a table or carry from room to room.