Neustadt Retabel [right fixed wing]: St Simon the Apostel and St Jude Thaddeus the Apostel

The Neustadt Retabel right fixed wing (1513) with Saints Simon the Apostle and Jude Thaddeus completes the fixed elements of the altarpiece's program — the apostle pairs on the fixed wings flanking the central narrative scenes on the moveable wings. Simon and Jude — minor apostles whose individual stories are relatively scant in the Gospels — were grouped together in medieval hagiography and celebrated on the same feast day (October 28), making them natural companions in devotional imagery. Cranach renders the two apostles with their distinguishing attributes — Simon traditionally shown with a saw (his martyrdom instrument) and Jude with a club or book — in the compact, devotionally direct style appropriate to altarpiece wing figures. The Stadtkirche St. Johannis in Neustadt an der Orla's preservation of the complete Neustadt Retabel program makes this one of the most significant surviving examples of a Cranach altarpiece in its original church context.

Tempera technique, reflecting earlier traditions, the religious composition demonstrates Lucas Cranach the Elder's precise linear draftsmanship and decorative elegance in service of sacred narrative. The figural arrangement draws on established iconographic tradition while the handling of light and color creates emotional resonance.