Scott Birrell

ALT An eye-level shot captures a long, ornate 13th-century altarpiece displayed inside a glass case atop a grey concrete block at the center of Westminster Abbey’s triforium. The altarpiece, known as the Westminster Retable, features a five-panel design with intricate gold-painted wood and deep blue-and-red glass details. The central panel depicts a standing figure under a gothic arch, flanked by two larger panels with intersecting geometric shapes, which in turn are flanked by smaller panels depicting standing figures. The glass case is illuminated by lights from above, and the retable is positioned in front of a stone wall with stained-glass lancet windows. The space features wide-plank wood flooring and an exposed wood beam ceiling. To the left, a smaller display case and a reading stand are visible, while to the right, stone architectural fragments are mounted on the wall.

ALT A close-up of a medieval-style panel painting depicting two figures with golden curls against a gold-leaf background. On the left, a profile of a bearded man with dark, curly hair and a patterned collar bows his head slightly. To the right, a fair-skinned, curly-haired figure tilted with a solemn expression looks toward the left, holding a portable organ (portative organ) with delicate fingers. Their garments are adorned with intricate patterns and gold trim, set against a weathered gold background with geometric patterns.

ALT Close-up detail of a weathered medieval painting on wood with prominent craquelure, depicting four figures looking upward in profile. In the foreground, a young, fair-skinned man with wavy, shoulder-length golden-brown hair looks upward to the left. He wears a red tunic with an ornate gold-patterned collar. In front of him, two pairs of hands with long, slender fingers are raised in a gesture of prayer or awe. The lower hands belong to a person wearing a red sleeve with a gold cuff, and the upper hands belong to a person in dark clothing with a patterned cuff. Behind the hands, two older, bearded men are visible in profile, also looking upward and to the left, one with a grey beard and green-grey curly hair, and another partially obscured behind him. To the right, behind the young man, is another figure with curly, dark brown hair and beard, looking upward.

ALT A medieval panel painting depicting a group of five figures, likely apostles or angels, clustered together. They are shown with curly brown hair, tilted heads, and expressive, solemn faces, painted in earthy tones of deep red, dark green, and gold with intricate gold geometric patterns bordering their collars and garments. The fresco is heavily weathered, with large patches of missing plaster and flaking paint revealing a rough under-layer, particularly across the bottom and left portions of the composition.