Christ and the Virgin Diptych Christ and the Virgin Diptych The Christ and the Virgin Diptych consisted of two small oil on oak panel paintings by the Early Netherlandish painter Dirk Bouts (also called Dieric Bouts) completed c. 1470–75. Originally they formed the wings of a hinged devotional diptych. The original autograph diptych is lost, although numerous versions of generally rather poor quality survive including a near identical diptych in the Louvre and a similar diptych in Toronto. Other versions of each panel survive. The best versions of the "Mater Dolorosa" are in the Art Institute of Chicago and in the Weissberger collection at Madrid.
Early Netherlandish painting both sides or with the reverse bearing family emblems, crests or ancillary outline sketches. In the case of single panels, the markings on the reverse are often wholly unrelated to the obverse and may be later additions, or as Campbell speculates, "done for the artist's amusement". Painting each side of a panel was practical since it prevented the wood from warping. Usually the frames of hinged works were constructed before the individual panels were worked on. Glue binder was often used as an inexpensive alternative to oil. Many works using this medium were produced but few survive today because of