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Die Heiligen Petrus und Paulus mit dem Schweißtuch der heiligen Veronika (Vera Icon) by Martin Schaffner

Die Heiligen Petrus und Paulus mit dem Schweißtuch der heiligen Veronika (Vera Icon)

Martin Schaffner·1518

Historical Context

Schaffner's panel showing Peter and Paul flanking the Veil of Veronica addresses the cult of the Vera Icon — the miraculous imprint of Christ's face — that held special devotional power in the late medieval German church. The pairing of the two founding apostles with the Sudarium frames the relic-image within apostolic authority, a standard arrangement for panels intended for private devotion or church altarpiece wings. The work dates from Schaffner's middle period, when Ulm's civic and ecclesiastical commissions kept him among the most productive painters in Swabia.

Technical Analysis

The Vera Icon is rendered as a flat devotional image-within-image, deliberately differentiated from the three-dimensional space of the flanking apostles. Schaffner's characteristic cool palette — lead white highlights over deep blue-green glazes — gives Paul's robe a metallic sheen distinctive of his mature handling.

See It In Person

Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe, Germany

Visit museum website →

Quick Facts

Medium
Tempera on panel
Dimensions
77.5 × 177 cm
Era
High Renaissance
Style
Northern Renaissance
Genre
Religious
Location
Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe
View on museum website →

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tabletop of Asymus Stedelin by Martin Schaffner

tabletop of Asymus Stedelin

Martin Schaffner·1533

Abschied Christi von Maria by Martin Schaffner

Abschied Christi von Maria

Martin Schaffner·1507

Wolfgang I. Graf von Oettingen by Martin Schaffner

Wolfgang I. Graf von Oettingen

Martin Schaffner·1508

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