Heilsspiegelaltar - Augustinus

Konrad Witz's depiction of Saint Augustine, from the Heilsspiegelaltar, presents the Church Father with the powerfully sculptural presence that characterizes all of his figures. Witz's innovative naturalism made the Basel altarpiece one of the most important Northern European paintings of the 1430s. This work belongs to the Early Renaissance, the transformative period in European art when painters first applied mathematical perspective, naturalistic figure modeling, and archaeological interest in antiquity to the inherited traditions of medieval devotional painting. The tension between Gothic grace and Renaissance structure gives art of this period a distinctive energy.

The bishop-saint is rendered with Witz's characteristic volumetric modeling, the episcopal vestments falling in heavy, substantial folds that create an almost carved appearance, demonstrating his unique approach to pictorial form.