Tempera on linden wood panels covered with linen (centre and inner sides of the wings), dimensions: central panel: 192.5 x 114 cm, wings: 192 x 56.5 cm. The altar has an original frame decorated with a carved relief depicting a stylized branch with leaves. The central scene represents the so-called
Last Prayer of the Virgin Mary among the
Apostles, connected in the upper part with the
Assumption of the Virgin Mary with the blessing of
Christ and the angels. Mary kneels with clasped hands before the Apostle holding an open book and is set in the composition in the intersection of two diagonals formed by the figures of the four Apostles. Together with the apostles standing behind the bed, all the heads form an ellipse. The faces of the apostles have individual features, and the scene is enlivened by small genre details and a variety of gestures. The draperies of the
Virgin Mary and the kneeling apostle are stylized in a way that is characteristic of the
late Gothic style of the so-called pressed or broken folds. The deathbed and the cloak of
Saint Peter are decorated with the technique of gilded tin-plated relief (pressed brocade). On the wings of the altar are three scenes from the life of the
Virgin Mary (
Annunciation,
Visitation,
Adoration of the Magi) and the
Wrestling of St. George with the Dragon. The central image and the three scenes from the life of the Virgin have a uniform gilded background decorated along the frame with hallmarking. The exception is the scene of
St. George and the Dragon, where the gilded background is preceded by a perspective representation of an open landscape with a castle and the figure of the rescued princess. On the back of the outer wings is
St. Wenceslaus on the left, with the abbess kneeling before
St. Philip (with cross) and
St. Simon (with saw) below him,
St. George on the right, and the donor kneeling before
St. Andrew at the bottom. The rear side of the frame is unadorned and the background is decorated with gilding on a red bolus ground. The double depiction of
Saint George may also have a contemporary significance. In addition to being the patron saint of St. George's Convent at Prague Castle, he also has a role in Christian iconography as a defender of
Christianity against pagans and may have been a symbol of King
George of Poděbrady's efforts to unite European rulers in defence against the invading
Turks. The Master of the St George's Altar probably stayed in
Nuremberg in the 1460s and was also familiar with the Swabian and Viennese artistic milieu. The sculptural carved ornament on the frames testifies to the contact with
Silesian art. His workshop was active in
Prague until about the 1480s and supplied his works from there to Northwest Bohemia or
Kutná Hora. The St George's Altar is a work of above-average value, in which fully mature late Gothic principles are applied. According to Pešina, it "belongs to the first and supreme manifestations of the new style aesthetics on Czech soil" and introduces the image of landscape into Czech Gothic painting. The
Dutch influence is not only manifested in its individual details, but also in its overall conception.
Gallery File:St. George, from the series The Apostles MET DP841220.jpg|
Master E. S., St George, from the series The Apostles File:Meister des Tucher-Altars 001.jpg|
Master of the Tucher Altarpiece, central panel File:Hans Multscher - Außenflügel des Wurzacher Altars (rechts unten) - Google Art Project.jpg|
Hans Multscher - right wing of the Wurzach Altar - Google Art Project File:Triptych Thunovský.jpg|Thunovský Altar
Works attributed to the workshop of the Master of the St. George's Altar •
St. Barbara triptych (Smíškovská Chapel,
St. Barbara's Church in Kutná Hora) •
Triptych called Thunovský (
National Gallery Prague) •
panels with saints from Litoměřice - a series of small plate paintings representing St. Barbara, St. Dorota, St. Catherine and St. Voršila, as well as panels with scenes of the
Visitation of the Virgin Mary and the
Adoration of the Magi, which come from the collections of the bishop's residence in Litoměřice •
four altar extensions from Kadan (
National Gallery Prague) • workshop (?):
altar wings from the Church of Saint Wenceslaus in Roudnice (now in Hussite Museum in Tábor) ==References==