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The altarpiece comes from Kisszeben.
In the early sixteenth century, the most prominent sculptor after Master Pál of Lőcse was the Master of the Altars of St. Anne, whose style, likely that of the famous Lőcse carver, had its origins in the variant of late Gothic art represented by Veit Stoss which originated in Cracow. The real name of the Master is not known; his work can be identified only the basis of style. The name by which he is known in the literature was given to him because he carved two large altars dedicated to St. Anne. The earlier of these comes from Kisszeben, a town in the former Sáros County.
In the Kisszeben altar shrine the figures are not placed rigidly side in the customary manner at that time, but are arranged turned toward each other to form a group. Although this might seem an obvious arrangement of an altar depicting Anne with two companion figures, here it is perhaps permissible to recognize in it the individual style of the Master, since almost all his works comprise two or three figure. The altarpiece illustrated here shows St. Anne, her daughter, the Virgin Mary, and her grandchild, the Infant Jesus; however, standing on the knees of the Virgin, the Child actually divided the scene into two halves. The shrine of the altar is logically adapted to this arrangement: the closing upper part suggests two niches. The Gothic ogee arches adorned with minute carving are, however, rather high above the heads of the main figures, so there is room also for the dignified of an angel holding a decorative shawl who stands out against the pomegranate pattern adorning the back panel of the altar box: another piece of decorative fabric is suspended behind the main figures by a second angel. Splendid though the altar is, it is on this fabric, with its beautiful design, that the eye lingers. The design continually departs from the regular, suggesting the spontaneity of free-hand drawing, and adding to the animation characteristic of late Gothic painting. This apparently lightly painted surface is actually produced by the sgraffito technique: the brilliantly polished uniform silver field was covered with a layer of white paint through which the pattern was then scratched out.
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