UNKNOWN MASTER, altarpiece painter
(15th century)

Altarpiece of Passion

1480-90
Wood
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

This altarpiece of the Passion was a small side-altar in St. Nicholas Church at Jánosrét. The superstructure and predella are lost. The artist who painted and carved the altar was clearly a member of the workshop of the Master of Jánosrét. The relief in the central shrine shows the Lamentation - the Virgin mourning over the deposed body of her Son. The paintings on the wings represent the story of the Passion. The figures in the relief suggest the distant influence of Veit Stoss's engravings, also the relief illustrating the same subject on the altarpiece of the Virgin Mary in Cracow (1477-1489). This influence is apparent in the seated figure of Christ, the ornamental head-dress characteristic of Netherlandish art worn by Mary Magdalen, the crown of thorns taken from the head of Christ and the rock indicated in the background. The drapery in the foreground, thrown open shell-like, also evokes the dramatic style of Veit Stoss. Another similarly composed relief of not much later date decorates the Brzezina altar in Poland; here there is a striking similarity in the figure of Nicodemus supporting Christ from behind. The realistic rendering of Christ's blood flowing down His body, as well as the stark features of painted Passion scenes, demonstrate the naturalistic trend in late Gothic art.

The size of the painted and gilt wooden relief is 95,5 x 83,5 cm. The inner panels of the wings (tempera on wood) are 54 x 38,5 cm.


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