Feilitzsch Altarpiece [left wing, recto]: Portrait of Jobst von Feilitzsch with St Peter

The Feilitzsch Altarpiece left wing from 1512 combines a donor portrait of Jobst von Feilitzsch with his patron Saint Peter on the recto — a standard German altarpiece convention that placed the donor in the same pictorial space as his patron saint, the saint's presence implicitly extending his protection to the donor. Jobst von Feilitzsch was a Saxon nobleman who commissioned this altarpiece for a family chapel — the specific church or chapel is not documented, but the work belonged to the tradition of private family chapel altarpieces through which noble families expressed their religious devotion and maintained their claim to divine patronage. The combination of donor portrait and sacred figure allowed Cranach to deploy both his portrait skills and his devotional figure painting in a single composition, creating a work that served both personal documentation and religious function. The work's current unlocated or privately held status means it circulates through the art market rather than permanent museum exhibition, making its study dependent on photographic documentation.

The panel shows Cranach's skill in juxtaposing realistic portrait observation with idealized saintly imagery, using his characteristic precise drawing for both the donor's physiognomy and Peter's apostolic attributes.