Retable anversois de la cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes, Antwerp reredos in Rennes Cathedral, France

The Retable anversois is a carved oak altarpiece from Antwerp, set in the cathedral of Saint-Pierre in Rennes. Its central section shows scenes from the life of the Virgin, while the wings carry the Tree of Jesse, the genealogy of Christ in carved figures. The panels are painted and gilded, and the whole is framed by tracery and small canopied niches.

The altarpiece was carved in Antwerp around 1520, when the city's workshops exported painted oak retables across Europe. It was later brought to Rennes Cathedral. In 1975 thieves sawed out several sculpted panels, and in 1985 water from firefighting damaged the remaining woodwork. The surviving sections were reassembled and restored in Rennes.

The altarpiece's painted oak figures are arranged in registers: scenes of the Virgin's life below, the Tree of Jesse above, with God the Father at the top. The Jesse tree, a genealogy of Christ drawn from Isaiah, was a common Antwerp workshop subject, and the carved lineage of kings and prophets let viewers trace Christ's descent.

The altarpiece stands in the north arm of the transept, near the cathedral's north door, so it is seen early by visitors entering from rue de la Monnaie. Iron railings keep viewers at a distance; the carved panels are best examined in daylight from the nave side.

The altarpiece was moved to Rennes Cathedral in 1805, transferred from the former abbey of Saint-Melaine. Its panels were later dispersed, and the carved figures were stolen in 1973 and again in 1982, which led to the iron grille that now protects it.