ArtvestigeArtvestige
PaintingsArtistsEras
Artvestige

Artvestige

The most comprehensive free reference for European painting. 40,000+ works across ten eras, every one with expert analysis.

Explore

PaintingsArtistsErasData Sources & CreditsContact

About

Artvestige is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any museum. All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

© 2026 Artvestige. All painting images are public domain / open access.

Legnica polyptych - left wing internal - upper panel - obverse: Annunciation; reverse: St Lawrence, St Vincent the Levite. St John the Baptist by Mikołaj Obilman

Legnica polyptych - left wing internal - upper panel - obverse: Annunciation; reverse: St Lawrence, St Vincent the Levite. St John the Baptist

Mikołaj Obilman·1466

Historical Context

Mikołaj Obilman's Legnica Polyptych (1466) is among the most significant surviving examples of Silesian panel painting, produced for a church in Legnica at a moment when this region — part of the Bohemian Crown lands — was experiencing significant cultural cross-pollination between Bohemian, German, and Polish artistic traditions. The polyptych format with Annunciation on the obverse and saints including Lawrence and Vincent the Levite on the reverse reflects the double liturgical function of polyptych wings: the painted exterior for everyday viewing, the gilded interior revealed on feast days. Obilman's work shows contact with contemporary Bohemian painting at Prague and Breslau workshops.

Technical Analysis

The panel demonstrates the Silesian workshop's characteristic combination of Bohemian Soft Style lingering in the draped figures with a more direct Central European expressiveness in the facial types. The Annunciation composition follows the established Central European formula: Gabriel from the left, Virgin at a prie-dieu at the right, the dove of the Holy Spirit descending on a gold ray. Reverse-side saint panels show individual attribute objects — Lawrence's gridiron, John's chalice — rendered with the object-clarity of German devotional convention.

See It In Person

National Museum in Warsaw

Warsaw, Poland

Visit museum website →

Quick Facts

Medium
Tempera on panel
Dimensions
182 × 152 cm
Era
Early Renaissance
Style
Early Renaissance
Genre
Religious
Location
National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw
View on museum website →

More by Mikołaj Obilman

The Annunciation by Mikołaj Obilman

The Annunciation

Mikołaj Obilman·1466

Christ on the Mount of Olives by Mikołaj Obilman

Christ on the Mount of Olives

Mikołaj Obilman·1466

Ecce Homo by Mikołaj Obilman

Ecce Homo

Mikołaj Obilman·1466

Resurrection of Christ by Mikołaj Obilman

Resurrection of Christ

Mikołaj Obilman·1466

More from the Early Renaissance Period

Pietà by Cosimo Tura

Pietà

Cosimo Tura·1475/1500

Virgin and Child by Giovanni Bellini

Virgin and Child

Giovanni Bellini·16th century or later

Christ Crowned with Thorns by Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio)

Christ Crowned with Thorns

Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio)·1450

Saint Peter Martyr Exorcizing a Woman Possessed by a Devil by Antonio Vivarini

Saint Peter Martyr Exorcizing a Woman Possessed by a Devil

Antonio Vivarini·c. 1450