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The picture shows the central panel of the High Altar (Altarpiece of Pentecost) from Csíkszentlélek.
Special mention should be made of the splendid embossed and gilded tracery. At first sight one has the impression that it is composed of Gothic motifs dissolving into the Italian Renaissance style; more careful observation reveals, however, that they are less rigid and rather more restless and sensitive. They are in fact motifs derived from the formal idiom of the Danube style, as also are the alternately long and short rays emanating from the dove - the symbol of the Holy Ghost - their purpose being to express the dynamism and all-pervading power of God's grace. When we consider that in 1510 the Danube School had not long been established, we may well be amazed that its influence was already visible in work originating in the valleys below the Eastern Carpathian mountains.
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