Master IW was inspired by
Cranach's graphic models, and some of the faces of his saints have similar features to Cranach's portraits. His early works were characterized by a certain fragility of figures and sharper folds of drapery. The gilded backgrounds on the panels of the
Litoměřice Altar show an uncertainty in the treatment of space. The later style of Master IW's painting is characterised by decorative details (friezes, column heads, distinctive gilded edges of the chasubles, etc.) and perfection of the painter's execution, the flowing nature of his handwriting and the subtlety of the transitions of light and shadow. The first signed and dated work is
The Suicide of Lucretia (1525). Very similar in execution to this are the paintings
Salome with the Head of John the Baptist and
Judith with the Head of Holofernes (identified as a work by Master IW only in 1996.) Both subjects were reworked repeatedly by
Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop. The Cranach Digital Archive records 46 versions of Lucrezia, 8 x Salomé, 21 versions of Judith The largest complete, signed and dated work by Master IW is the
Želina Altar (1526). Compositionally, it is very close to the surviving design drawings by
Lucas Cranach the Elder for the
retables intended to decorate the church of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Lawrence in Halle (which IW himself may have been involved in while still working in Cranach's workshop) and also the retable with the
Death of the Virgin by another of Cranach's pupils – the so-called
Meister des Pflockschen Altars (1522). The latter was made for the funeral chapel of the Pflock family in the church of St. Anne in
Annaberg-Buchholz, Saxony. The
Želina Altar, commissioned by Opel of Fictum, was probably originally intended for the Franciscan Church of the Fourteen Holy Helpers in
Kadaň, which supported the Fictum family in difficult times and where their tombstones are located. The dating of the altar may be related to the upcoming
campaign against the Turks in 1526, when the possibility of sudden death without the last rites became real. This corresponds to the central scene with the
Death of the Virgin Mary, which often appeared on epitaphs in funerary chapels in connection with the so-called
good death (see
St George's Altar). The Virgin Mary thus embodies the soul of a righteous, redeemed human being, lying on bed and receiving the last rites, as well as intercessor at
the Last Judgement. The Marian scenes on the wings of the altar are based on prints by
A. Dürer and
L. Cranach and depict the scenes:
Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, Visitation of the Virgin Mary, Nativity of Christ, Adoration of the Three Kings. On the predella there is a scene of
The Lamentation of Christ and putti with the coats of arms of Opel of Victum and his wife Dorota, née Trčková of Lípa. On the fixed wings of the altar and on the back of the movable wings are depicted the patron saints of the country (from left),
Adalbert of Prague,
St. Wenceslas,
St. Sigismund and
St. Vitus. The masterpiece of Master IW is the double-sided painted
Votive painting from Šopka (Pšovka) with the Sorrowful Christ, Death and Donor on one side and the Holy Trinity (
Throne of Grace) on the other. Christ is presented as the one who made the sacrifice for the purification of mankind from sin and shows his wounds to urge the punishment of the sinners for whom it was made in vain. The
Throne of Grace depicts God who sacrificed his son for the salvation of mankind (the adoration of
Holy Trinity is also the subject of a slightly earlier painting by the
Master of the Litoměřice Altarpiece). The figure of Christ is based on a model by
Albrecht Dürer (1500), but is characterized by extraordinary inventiveness in composition, delicacy of execution, soft glazes and careful execution of details. In terms of its painterly quality, the painting is comparable, for example, to
Cranach's Prague Altarpiece. The identity of the donor of the painting is not clear. In 1502,
Ladislaus Jagiello granted the right of submission to St. Lawrence Church in Pšovka Two votive paintings with
Madonnas, dated 1538, were commissioned by wealthy burghers. The
Votive plaque of Kašpar Kašpárek with the little Jesus holding a grape with his left hand and a ball of wine in his right hand above the donor's head refers to the
eucharist. The
Bridge Plate with the figure of
Assumpta on the crescent and the kneeling donors in medallions mostly repeats scenes from the
Želina Altar (
Annunciation, Visitation of the Virgin Mary, Birth of Jesus and Death of the Virgin Mary). The medallion on the top right (
Christ Appearing to the Virgin Mary) is based on the woodcut by
A. Dürer. The arrangement of scenes in medallions was popular in Germany and was related to the founding of the
Rosary Brotherhoods. The last signed work by Master IW, also known from two later copies in
Duchcov and
Chomutov, is the
Pensive Christ (1541, now Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden). On altars from a later period there may have been a signature on some parts that have not survived, e.g. on the
predella. The attribution of other works to Master IW is supported by a comparative analysis of style and painting technique and by restoration reports. The
Murder of St. Wenceslas of 1543 is based on the composition of the mural by the
Master of the Litoměřice Altarpiece in St. Wenceslas Chapel in
St. Vitus Cathedral and the woodcut by
Lucas Cranach. The painting may have been commissioned while the cathedral was being repaired after the Great Fire of 1541, in connection with the expected visit of
Ferdinand I to Prague (1543). This is evidenced by the two coats of arms with the Bohemian lion and the imperial eagle above the portal. The ''St. Catherine's Centenary'' is probably the central part of the dismantled and lost altar. It is characterised by a new conception of space with a steep hill in the background, lively gestures of the figures and a composition that enhances the sweeping gesture of the executioner. The painting is considered one of the finest works of Master I.W.
The Altar with the Beheading of St. Barbara from Osek is based on the same composition of the central figures as the previous
Beheading of St. Catherine and in the background depicts in four spatial plans other scenes from the legend of
Saint Barbara. In the lower left corner there are several small depictions with hidden meanings that refer to theological texts. On the movable wings are
St. Peter on the left and
St. Paul on the right. The closed wings depict the protectors against plagues and epidemics –
St. Roch with
St. Sebastian were a common theme in their time. The commissioner (according to the coat of arms on the wing with St. Sebastian) was the governor of Osek, Richard Kozelka of
Hřivice, who was elevated to the nobility in 1546. The painting attributed to the workshop of Master I.W. around 1550 -
The Elevation of the Copper Serpent – also comes from the
Osek monastery. The unusual subject is taken from
Cranach's allegorical painting
Law and Grace (1529), where it is part of the background scene. File:Mistr IW - Madona s dítětem.jpg|Master IW, Madonna and Child (1525) File:Mistr IW, Judita s hlavou Holofernovou (1525).jpg|Master IW, Judith with the head of Holofernes (1525) File:Mistr IW, Salomé s hlavou sv. Jana Křtitele (1525).jpg|Master IW, Salomé with the head of St. John the Baptist (1525) File:Mistr IW, Votivní obraz ze Šopky (1530), avers.jpg|Master IW,
Votive painting from Šopka (1530), avers File:Mistr IW, Stětí svaté Kateřiny.jpg|Master IW, Beheading of St. Catherine (1520-1540) File:Mistr IW, Epitaf Kašpara Kašpárka s chotí (1538)).jpg|Master IW, Epitaph of Kašpar Kašpárek and his wife (1538) File:Mistr-IW,-Votivní-deska-s-Assumptou,-tzv.-Mostecká-(1538),-tempera-na-dřevě,-OM-v-Mostě.jpg|Master IW, Votive panel with Assumpta, so-called Mostecká (1538) File:Mistr IW (dílna), Povýšení bronzového hada (1550).jpg|Master IW (workshop), Elevation of the bronze snake (1550) == List of works ==