(active in Saxony/Ore Mountains, c. 1520)

CIRCLE OF LUCAS CRANACH THE ELDER

FOUR PANEL PAINTINGS WITH SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN

The Visitation, The Nativity, The Adoration of the Magi, The Presentation in the Temple

The four wooden panels were originally located on the inside of the wings of a large late Gothic altarpiece. They depict important events from the life of Mary: the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, and the Presentation in the Temple. The sequence begins with the Visitation, the meeting of the pregnant Virgin Mary with Elizabeth, the future mother of John the Baptist. This is followed by the Nativity scene with three kneeling angels, an ox and a donkey, as well as Mary and Joseph, and three shepherds. In the Adoration of the Magi, Mary sits with the Christ Child on her lap at the left edge of the picture. Before her, the eldest of the three kings has knelt down and presents the child with a vessel of gold as a gift. Finally, the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple follows. On a velvet cushion, the aged priest Simeon holds the child, whom he recognizes as the Messiah, above the altar.

The four scenes belong to the so-called “Joys of the Virgin”. According to Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. Sup3, the panels formed the inner sides of two altarpiece wings. The separated outer sides depicted Saints Barbara and Agnes, as well as Catherine and Margaret. Today, they are located in the collegiate parish church of St. Peter and Alexander in Aschaffenburg. In the original context of the former Marian altar, the four panels shown here, together with a central panel probably depicting the Coronation of the Virgin, formed the festive side of the altarpiece, which was only opened on church holidays.

Max J. Friedländer and Jacob Rosenberg already attributed the panels to the Master of the Pflock Alterpiece in their standard work. This painter from the circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder was named after his main work, the Pflock family altarpiece in St. Anne's Church in Annaberg-Bucholz.

The panels were probably created around 1520, at a time when the master also created the Pflock Altar and another important work, the so-called Rochlitz Retable.

Despite his unmistakable stylistic similarity to Cranach the Elder, this master's works reveal a distinct artistic character. In 1992, Ingo Sandner wrote about the Master of the Pflock Alterpiece: “In the Saxon context, this painter ranks among the best in his field. Even among Cranach's students who founded their own workshops, he is one of the most remarkable artists of all.” (quoted from an expert opinion by Prof. Dr. Ingo Sandner, Dresden, December 28, 1992).