Einschiffung der Gebeine des Hl. Jakobus d. Ä. nach Spanien
Historical Context
The Master of the Rajhrad Altarpiece is named for the Benedictine monastery of Rajhrad in Moravia, and his panel depicting the Embarkation of Saint James the Greater's bones for Spain belongs to the Jacobean pilgrimage legend: after James's martyrdom in Jerusalem, his disciples transported his body by ship to Galicia, where it would eventually be venerated at Santiago de Compostela. The shipping of the saint's relics was a popular narrative subject in regions with strong Jacobean pilgrimage traditions. The Master's style reflects the Bohemian-Moravian late Gothic manner influenced by both South German and Austrian painting.
Technical Analysis
The panel is executed in tempera with gold grounds, the ship and its crew rendered with attention to the details of fifteenth-century maritime equipment — rigging, sails, the vessel's hull. The disciples carry the reliquary on board with ceremonial care. The Master employs the narrative descriptive approach of Central European Gothic panel painting, with figures varied in gesture and costume.
