The 15th- or early 16th-century panels presented here are mostly from northern Europe, or at least within the zone of Netherlandish influence rather than Italian. They are all almost unknown, and certainly none of them have been subjected to modern techniques of investigation-infrared, x-ray, micro-photography. What is important is their quality, even if some are difficult to attribute or can be associated only with other works by this or that 'master of'. This book is an exemplary investigation of a series of, so far, poorly documented works that will prove of great interest to those in the field. Most of the 15th- or early 16th-century panel paintings presented here are northern European, a large number German, which have been neglected in English language studies. They are all almost unknown, and certainly none of them have been subjected to modern techniques of investigation - infrared, x-ray, micro-photography - until now. What makes these works of importance is their fine quality, which is reflected in some of the most spectacular examples such as the beautiful 15th century Dormition of the Virgin by the Master of the Vienna Marienaltar and The Holy Trinity (Seat of Mercy) with saints and donor by Peter Hemmel and his circle from 1479.

This catalogue accompanied an exhibition at the Groeninge Museum, Bruges, which celebrated one of the greatest European artists of the late fourteenth century, Andre Beauneveu, apparently born in Valenciennes c. 1335. Active throughout the Southern Netherlands, his reputation grew swiftly and in 1364 he was commissioned by the King of France, Charles V, to create a group of royal tombs at St Denis. In the 1370s he oversaw another ambitious funerary project, for Louis de Male, Count of Flanders, at Courtrai, whilst continuing to undertake major civic commissions at Ypres, Mechelen and his home town of Valenciennes. Beauneveu spent the last years of his career in Bourges working for the most celebrated royal patron of all, Jean, Duc de Berry. The extraordinary scope of Beauneveu's talent was fully exploited by Jean de Berry, for whom he produced manuscript illuminations, made designs for stained glass and oversaw the construction of his chateau at Mehun-sur-Yevre. However, it is primarily his unrivalled skill in the handling of stone which gives Beauneveu such significance, not only in the context of Northern sculpture but also for the arts of Europe as a whole. The known sculptural oeuvre of Beauneveu, however, is not substantial. The reappearance of the Virgin and Child once in the collection of Eduoard Aynard at the Abbey of Fontenay and its new attribution to this sculptor "who had no better nor equal in any land" dramatically increases our knowledge of his work and must entail a rethink of many histories of French and Flemish art in the fourteenth century, for we now have not two but three life-sized figures from which our view of his style and achievements can be formed.