An Altarpiece from St. Moritz Church [left fixed wing]: St Elizabeth

The left fixed wing of the St Moritz Church Altarpiece depicting Saint Elizabeth (1514) is one element of a multi-panel commission for the St. Moritz Church in Mittenwalde, a town in the Mark Brandenburg southeast of Berlin. Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231) — princess, wife, and mother who gave herself to care for the sick and the poor after her husband's death — was one of the most venerated female saints in medieval Germany, her story of voluntary poverty and dedicated charity making her a model of practical Christian love. Her presence as a fixed wing element in a Lutheran-region altarpiece (even pre-Reformation) reflects the continuing importance of such saints in the devotional life of Saxon communities. The Stadtpfarrkirche St. Moritz in Mittenwalde's preservation of Cranach's altarpiece elements in their original church setting gives these works the rare quality of contextual authenticity — they remain in the ecclesiastical environment for which they were made and within which they can be most fully understood.

The devotional work is executed with sinuous contours, reflecting Lucas Cranach the Elder's engagement with the demands of religious painting. The composition balances narrative clarity with spiritual atmosphere, using vivid coloring to heighten the sacred drama.