Saint Lawrence

Matthias Grünewald painted this Saint Lawrence around 1509, during the period when he was developing the intensely expressive style that would culminate in the Isenheim Altarpiece. Grünewald was the most emotionally powerful painter of the German Renaissance, and even his individual saint panels possess an otherworldly intensity unmatched by his contemporaries. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

Oil on panel with Grünewald's characteristic luminous coloring and emotionally charged atmosphere. The saint's figure is rendered with the dynamic energy and visionary quality that distinguish Grünewald's unique approach to religious painting.