Christgartner Altar: Ein Engel reicht Maria die Palme

This panel showing an angel presenting the palm to Mary forms part of Schäufelein's Christgarten Altar of around 1515. The scene depicts the annunciation of Mary's death, a subject from apocryphal tradition popular in late medieval Marian devotion, particularly in monastic settings like the Carthusian house that commissioned this altarpiece. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

Schäufelein renders the angelic visitation with delicate restraint, using soft lighting and graceful gestures characteristic of his more contemplative altarpiece panels.