A supreme master of the art of the altarpiece was Michael Pacher (around 1430 to 1498). Born in what is now called South Tyrol, he did most of his work there and in the vicinity of Salzburg. He created a number of the large, movable altarpieces typical of late Gothic German art, and was skilled both as a sculptor and a painter. But very little survives complete. The beautiful Virgin above, set in a baroque reredos in Salzburg, is what remains of what must have been one of his greatest masterpieces.
St. Wolfgang in Austria was an important pilgrimage destination in the late Middle Ages. Nowadays in the summer it is a crowded and rather noisy resort well known in the German-speaking world.
Here at St Wolfgang there is preserved one of the greatest masterpieces of the art of the altarpiece in Europe. It depects the Coronation of the Virgin flanked by St. Wolfgang and St. Benedict. The altar is a vast composition made up of both sculpture and paintings.
The late medieval world understood Mary as the paragon and model for all contemplatives. Here she kneels humbly with averted face and downcast eyes before her own Son who crowns her the Queen of Heaven. Yet there is no explosion of baroque drama but all is suffused with a quiet, inefffable radiance of mystic rapture.
The Virgin as seen from different angles with different lighting. As the afternoon light changes, the gilt surfaces of the altar constantly reveal subtle new aspects to the viewer.
The great carved central scene is surrounded by wings with numerous panels illustrating the New Testament (here, the Circumcision). Michael Pacher was as skilled a painter as he was a sculptor, and his painted work shows the early influence of the Italian renaissance north of the Alps. These panels can be moved to present several different views to the congregation depending on the ecclesiastical calendar.
The carving attains almost superhuman virtuosity in the canopy and crown (Gesprenge).
St. Wolfgang has the appearance of a forthright man of action in contrast to the central scene of contemplation. St Wolfgang – after whom the village is named – was bishop of Regensburg in the 10th century and a noted missionary and reformer. Note the elaborate late medieval episcopal vestments and regalia on this statue.
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