The Morrison Triptych

The Morrison Triptych refers to a religious 3-paneled object credited to the artist known as "The Master of the Morrison Triptych". The object is named for the last private owner, Alfred Morrison and is currently on display at the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio. The triptych was formerly knows as "Virgin and child" and is now named "The Morrison Triptych".

The object is an altarpiece, created for display in a Christian church either on or behind the Church altar; a central location within a place of religious worship for ceremonial purpose.

A "triptych" refers to a 3 (tri) paneled object with a fixed panel in the center and 2 panels which are either designed to be fixed or moveable, in the case – closed to cover the center panel.The external panels are decorated with paintings intended to appear as sculpture depicting Adam and Eve, characters from the Old Testament. The Old Testament is included as part of the Christian and Jewish religions.

These “painted sculptures” of Adam and Eve cast shadows to their proper left and the front panel is painted to appear to reflect a candle that would be placed on the altar in front of this altarpiece. The pedestals in which the “sculptures” stand protrude toward the viewer, appearing 3-dimensional and including the viewer in their realm.The panels open to reveal a landscape rendering in the background and in the central panel an image of the Virgin Mary and the Christ child and angels, central figures of the Christian religion. Connecting the three scenes of the inner prospect are not only the floor tile, blue sky and continuous landscape but also the repetition of the architectural arch motif and the balustrade with tracery at the top of the image.

Although the design is continuous; the characters depicted on the inner left and right hand panels are not in the same “chamber” as the central characters. The sides are also unframed.

Iconographic features

When the triptych panels are closed (on the “closed prospect of the triptych”) Adam and Eve, subjects of “The Original Sin” are portrayed on the outer left hand (Adam) and right hand (Eve) panels of the triptych. When the triptych panels are opened (within the “opened prospect of the triptych”); images also immediately recognizable to anyone viewing this in the 1500’s showing the enthroned Virgin Mary accompanied with the Christ child and two angels. On the inner left hand panel John the Baptist with a lamb and on the inner right hand panel John the Evangelist with a chalice. The columns in the center image also host portrayals of figures painted as if sculpture above the capital on the left a man with a sword raised to decapitate a character and another man above the capital on the right column a character who has just decapitated the head of a character. These images are depicting sacrifice: Abraham being stopped by an angel before sacrificing his only son Jacob on the left and on the right, Jephthah (“the fool”) who sacrificed his daughter because of a promise to sacrifice the first person he saw when he returned to his city, despite being saddened to be greeted by his own daughter upon that return. “Sacrifice and Salvation” are portrayed by the open prospect of the triptych.

Source: Nancy Robinson, Toledo Museum of Art docent class of 2007 detail captured from lecture from Larry Nichols, Toledo Museum of Art - January 2008