Marienaltar

Conrad von Soest's Marienaltar (Wildunger Altar) at the Marienkirche represents the artist's most celebrated work and one of the masterpieces of German International Gothic painting. Von Soest was the leading painter in Westphalia at the turn of the fifteenth century, and his work is distinguished by an exceptionally refined color sense and a soft, elegant figure style that reflects both Parisian influence and the milieu of the Rhineland court. The Marienaltar combines scenes from the lives of the Virgin and Christ with a courtly elegance — fashionable costume, delicate faces, and a jewel-like palette — that makes it one of the most beautiful altarpieces of the period in northern Europe.

Von Soest's palette is extraordinary for its cool, clear colors: silvery blues, pale greens, and luminous whites against gold grounds. His figures have a characteristic delicacy of feature and graceful fluidity of drapery that distinguishes him from the heavier Bohemian style. Gold tooling in the haloes and decorative borders adds to the jewel-like effect.