The Master of the Rajhrad Altarpiece (sometimes called the Master of Raigern) was a Bohemian painter active in the region around Olomouc and Brno before 1420. Likely of Moravian extraction, he derives his name from an altarpiece that once hung in the church of Saint Maurice in Olomouc; since disassembled, some of its panels are now in Rajhrad. These depict scenes from the Passion and from the Legend of the True Cross, and were painted before 1420. Two scenes, the Transportation of the Cross (Image) and the Crucifixion , are believed to be by his hand, while the rest are products of his studio. Also ascribed to him are the altarpiece of Náměšť, also dating to before 1420 and today found in Brno, and an Altarpiece of Saint Jacob of about 1430, today dispersed between Prague, Brno, Vienna and Nuremberg.
The Master influenced the work of artists even beyond Bohemia; work by the Master of the Saint Lambrecht Votive Altarpiece indicates that his style was known even in Vienna. Some historians conflate him with the Master of Ambrass, but not all agree with this assessment.
Holy Week is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. For all Christian traditions, it is a moveable observance. In Eastern Christianity, which also calls it Great Week, it is the week following Great Lent and Lazarus Saturday, starting on the evening of Palm Sunday and concluding on the evening of Great Saturday. In Western Christianity, Holy Week is the sixth and last week of Lent, beginning with Palm Sunday and concluding on Holy Saturday.
Pietro Lorenzetti or Pietro Laurati was an Italian painter, active between c. 1306 and 1345. Together with his younger brother Ambrogio, he introduced naturalism into Sienese art. In their artistry and experiments with three-dimensional and spatial arrangements, the brothers foreshadowed the art of the Renaissance.
A number of alleged relics associated with Jesus have been displayed throughout the history of Christianity. While some individuals believe in the authenticity of Jesus relics, others doubt their validity. For instance, the sixteenth-century philosopher Erasmus wrote about the proliferation of relics, and the number of buildings that could be constructed from wooden relics claimed to be from the crucifixion cross of Jesus. Similarly, at least thirty Holy Nails were venerated as relics across Europe in the early 20th century. Part of the relics are included in the so-called Arma Christi, or the Instruments of the Passion.
The decade of the 1460s in art involved some significant events.
The Master of the Osservanza Triptych, also known as the Osservanza Master and as the Master of Osservanza, is the name given to an Italian painter of the Sienese School active about 1430 to 1450.
The Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece was a Bohemian painter active in Prague around 1380–1390. His name is derived from the Třeboň Altarpiece from the church of Saint Eligius at the Augustinian convent of Třeboň. The triptych depicts Christ on the Mount of Olives, The Tomb of Christ, and the Resurrection. It has been dated to around 1380, and is today held at the Convent of St. Agnes branch of the National Gallery in Prague.
The Master of Vyšší Brod was an anonymous Bohemian painter active around 1350. It seems likely that he was from Prague originally; an altarpiece for the Cistercian convent of Vyšší Brod, from which his name is derived, may still be seen in Prague. Datable to around 1350, the painting, whose panels are now disbanded, depicts the Infancy of Christ along with scenes from the Passion. It may be seen in the Convent of St. Agnes branch of the National Gallery in Prague. The scenes depicting the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Resurrection are ascribed to the Master's hand, while other portions are believed to be the product of his studio.
The life of Christ as a narrative cycle in Christian art comprises a number of different subjects showing events from the life of Jesus on Earth. They are distinguished from the many other subjects in art showing the eternal life of Christ, such as Christ in Majesty, and also many types of portrait or devotional subjects without a narrative element.
The resurrection of Jesus has long been central to Christian faith and Christian art, whether as a single scene or as part of a cycle of the Life of Christ. In the teachings of the traditional Christian churches, the sacraments derive their saving power from the passion and resurrection of Christ, upon which the salvation of the world entirely depends. The redemptive value of the resurrection has been expressed through Christian art, as well as being expressed in theological writings.
The Třeboň Altarpiece, also known as Wittingau altarpiece, is one of the most important works of European Gothic panel painting. Of the original large altarpiece retable created in about 1380 by an anonymous Gothic painter called the Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece, three wings, painted on both sides, have survived. The altarpiece is one of the works that helped towards the emergence of the International Gothic style and which influenced the development of art in a broad European context.
The Seilern Triptych, variously dated c. 1410-15 or c. 1420–25, is a large oil and gold leaf on panel, fixed winged triptych altarpiece generally attributed to the Early Netherlandish painter Robert Campin. It is the earliest of two known triptychs attributed to him, although the outer wing panels paintings are lost. The work details the events of Christ's passion; with iconography associated with the liturgy of Holy Week. The panels, which should be read from left to right, detail three stations of the cycle of the Passion of Jesus; the crucifixion, the burial and the resurrection.
The Veveri Madonna, also called the Madonna of Veveri, is an tempera painting by the unknown Moravian, Bohemian artist generally called Master of Vyšší Brod. The altarpiece was commissioned after 1344 by Margrave John Henry of Luxembourg for the romanesque church of Assumption of Our Lady, In the neighborhood of royal Veveří castle in Brno, Moravia, Czech Republic. Exhibited in Diocesan Museum in Brno. The panel was one of the first Madonnas painted by the artist. Albert Kutal a Czech scholar called it "a truly rare and extraordinary work".
The miniature altarpiece in the British Museum, London, is a very small portable Gothic boxwood miniature sculpture completed in 1511 by the Northern Netherlands master sometimes identified as Adam Dircksz, and members of his workshop. At 25.1 cm (9.9 in) high, it is built from a series of architectural layers or registers, which culminate at an upper triptych, whose centre panel contains a minutely detailed and intricate Crucifixion scene filled with multitudes of figures in relief. Its outer wings show Christ Carrying the Cross on the left, and the Resurrection on the right.
The Vyšší Brod (Hohenfurth) cycle, ranks among the most important monuments of European Gothic painting. It is made up of nine panel paintings depicting scenes from the Life of Christ, covering his childhood, Passion and resurrection. These paintings were made between 1345 and 1350 in the workshop of the Master of Vyšší Brod that was most probably based in Prague. The pictures were either meant for a square altar retable or else they decorated the choir partition of the church of the Cistercian Abbey in Vyšší Brod.
The Litoměřice Altarpiece was a large altar retable, in all likelihood with two pairs of movable wings and two pairs of fixed ones. From these wings, six panels have survived, two of which are painted on both sides. The movable wings on the left-hand side of the altar are presumed lost. The altar wing depicting Christ on the Mount of Olives belongs to the Diocese of Litoměřice, while the other panels are owned by the Regional Museum in Litoměřice. It is the largest surviving set of panel paintings by an anonymous late Gothic and early Renaissance painter called the Master of the Litoměřice Altarpiece. The altarpiece is part of the permanent collection of the North Bohemian Gallery of Fine Art in Litoměřice.
The Roudnice Altarpiece is a three-part winged altar from the provost's church in Roudnice nad Labem, one of the oldest completely preserved Gothic retables from the period around 1410-1420. It is on display in the permanent exhibition of the National Gallery in Prague.
Crucifixion from Nové Sady, is part of a larger altar polyptych called the Rajhrad Altarpiece. Its author is the last important personality of Czech panel painting of the pre-Hussite period, known as the Master of the Rajhrad Altarpiece. The painting is on display in the permanent exhibition of the National Gallery in Prague.
The Ark of Doudleby (1494) is a set of three double-sided painted panels that were part of a winged altar, the centre of which was probably a cabinet with a statue of Pieta. This incompletely preserved altar is the finest set of late Gothic paintings in the collection of the Aleš South Bohemian Gallery in Hluboká nad Vltavou.
Ambras sketchbook (c.1410) is a rare set of 56 small-format drawings on 14 wooden plates that has survived in its entirety. It was in the collections of the Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria at Ambras Castle and hence its designation in the literature. This work comes from the Prague artistic community and represents a sampling of faces from different phases of the development of the beautiful style, for which the panel paintings of Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece or the sculptural works of Master of the Týn Calvary and his workshop were a model. The sketchbook is also related to the typology of faces of the so-called Capuchin Cycle. Ambras sketchbook is in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Rajhrad Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Rajhrad in the South Moravian Region, Czech Republic. It was founded by Duke Bretislav I in 1045. It was the first Benedictine male monastery in the country and first historically mentioned monastery in Moravia.