THE MERODE ALTARPIECE, with its abundant symbolism, has often been studied, even before its acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum. This note concerns the interpretation of the right-hand panel (Figure I), which shows Joseph in his workshop. The decisive step in its interpretation was made some time ago by Meyer Schapiro of Columbia University.2 The interpretation put forward by Schapiro seems to me unassailable, and I shall not try to change it, but I think I have something to add. The

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... ps on the windowsill and the table allude, Schapiro has shown, to the idea, found first in St. Augustine, that the holy cross was a mousetrap set