Die Heiligen Laurentius und Stephanus

Saints Lawrence and Stephen were paired frequently in late medieval altarpiece programs because both were deacons — the first and second proto-martyrs of the Roman church — making them natural companions in programs celebrating the diaconate or commemorating specific dedications. Lawrence, martyred on a gridiron in Rome in 258, and Stephen, stoned to death in Jerusalem, were among the most popular saints in German-speaking lands, with numerous churches and altars dedicated to them. The Master of the Small Passion places them within the Darmstadt altarpiece program, giving each figure his identifying attribute — Lawrence his gridiron, Stephen his stones or the rock of his martyrdom.

Each saint is given half the panel's width in a heraldic arrangement common to altarpiece wings, with attributes held or placed beside them as legible identifying markers. The drapery in the International Gothic manner falls in complex, decorative folds that display the painter's virtuosity within a small format.