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Pfirtscher Altarpiece: Saint Stephanus
Historical Context
Pfirtscher Altarpiece: Saint Stephen, painted in 1528 and held in the Bavarian State Painting Collections, is a panel from an altarpiece commissioned by the Pfirtsch family. Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is depicted with his traditional attribute of stones, referencing his death by stoning as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. The altarpiece panels from the Pfirtsch commission are distributed across several Bavarian collections, demonstrating how dismemberment and dispersal affected many German altarpieces after the Reformation and subsequent secularization of church properties. Cranach’s rendering of the deacon saint in rich liturgical vestments reflects pre-Reformation ceremonial practice.
Technical Analysis
The saint is depicted with his traditional attributes, including stones symbolizing his martyrdom. Cranach's distinctive figure style renders the protomartyr with the elegant clarity characteristic of his workshop production.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice Saint Stephen's stones: the protomartyr's attribute — the stones with which he was stoned to death — are typically piled on his book or held in his arms.
- ◆Look at how Cranach renders Stephen as an early Christian deacon: the young deacon's vestments and the stones mark him clearly within the altarpiece program.
- ◆Find the Pfirtsch family commission context: this altarpiece panel was created for a specific noble family patron whose name the altarpiece bears.
- ◆Observe how the Bavarian State Painting Collections preserves multiple Pfirtscher Altarpiece panels together.
