St John Altarpiece Reed believes the similarities so pronounced that it is highly probable that the two were intended to hang together at the Miraflores monastery. St John Altarpiece The St John Altarpiece (German - "Johannesaltar", "Johannestafel" or "Johannesretabel") is a c. 1455 oil-on-oak wood panel altarpiece by the Early Netherlandish painter Rogier van der Weyden, now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. The triptych is linked to the artist's earlier "Miraflores Altarpiece" in its symbolic motifs, format and intention. The panels show – from left to right – the birth of Saint John, the baptism of Christ by John in Jordan, and the beheading
Beaune Altarpiece different. The figures occupy distinctly separate niches and the colour schemes of the grisaille saints and donors contrast sharply. Like many mid-15th century polyptychs, the exterior panels borrow heavily from the "Ghent Altarpiece", which was completed in 1432. The combination of naturalistic donor portraits with grisaille imitation statues of saints is borrowed from that work, as is the treatment of the Annunciation. Van der Weyden used iconography in the Beaune exterior panels not found in his other works, which suggests Rolin may have commissioned the altarpiece to follow van Eyck's example. Van der Weyden was not inclined merely to imitate