Painter unknown, circle of Lucas Cranach Dormition of the Virgin (central panel) Saint Valentine (left wing) Saint Sebald (right wing) The altarpiece was commissioned by Lorenz Pflock (Flock), originally from Nuremberg, son of the tanner Hans Flock and Clara von Ahl (also called von Oehl or von Aal). He immigrated to Annaberg in 1502—four years after the town's founding—and became a wealthy owner of silver mines and even a councilman. Besides the altarpiece, he, his wife Magdalena, his son Wolf, and his daughter-in-law Ursula commissioned reliefs for the gallery balustrade of the church. Pflock also contributed to the church's construction, having his coat of arms and that of his wife placed on one of the keystones of the vault. ... On August 18, 1521, Duke George of Saxony granted permission for the burial of Lorenz Pflock, who was already terminally ill and had donated 1,000 guilders for perpetual masses and a further sum for wine intended for the poor in the hospital, before his altar; Pflock died on August 25, 1521. Pflock commissioned the work from the circle of Lucas Cranach, not forgetting his local patron saint. The painter must have been familiar with Dürer's 1518 print of St. Sebald. The saint appears in the altarpiece wing with his three-lily coat of arms in the lower left. His posture, clothing, attributes, and garland are all modeled on this example. The transformation of the church's architecture from the Gothic original (which the artist, of course, did not know) to a "modernizing" post-Romanesque style is highly interesting, a transformation that takes us back in time to the Orientalizing Romanesque period around 1200. This leads us to works such as the church in Guntersblum or St. Paul's in Worms. Thus, the need to draw on the Gothic tradition cannot be denied—very much in the spirit of the Annaberg Cathedral Building Dispute of 1518. This is also evident in the architectural structure of the altarpiece, which is crowned with a Venetian semicircular pediment.

Pablo de la Riesta with special thanks to Ursula Timann and Karl Kohn

(June 2021)

Painter unknown, circle of Lucas Cranach Dormition of the Virgin (central panel) Saint Valentine (left wing) Saint Sebald (right wing) The altarpiece was commissioned by Lorenz Pflock (Flock), originally from Nuremberg, son of the tanner Hans Flock and Clara von Ahl (also called von Oehl or von Aal). He immigrated to Annaberg in 1502—four years after the town's founding—and became a wealthy owner of silver mines and even a councilman. Besides the altarpiece, he, his wife Magdalena, his son Wolf, and his daughter-in-law Ursula commissioned reliefs for the gallery balustrade of the church. Pflock also contributed to the church's construction, having his coat of arms and that of his wife placed on one of the keystones of the vault. ... On August 18, 1521, Duke George of Saxony granted permission for the burial of Lorenz Pflock, who was already terminally ill and had donated 1,000 guilders for perpetual masses and a further sum for wine intended for the poor in the hospital, before his altar; Pflock died on August 25, 1521. Pflock commissioned the work from the circle of Lucas Cranach, not forgetting his local patron saint. The painter must have been familiar with Dürer's 1518 print of St. Sebald. The saint appears in the altarpiece wing with his three-lily coat of arms in the lower left. His posture, clothing, attributes, and garland are all modeled on this example. The transformation of the church's architecture from the Gothic original (which the artist, of course, did not know) to a "modernizing" post-Romanesque style is highly interesting, a transformation that takes us back in time to the Orientalizing Romanesque period around 1200. This leads us to works such as the church in Guntersblum or St. Paul's in Worms. Thus, the need to draw on the Gothic tradition cannot be denied—very much in the spirit of the Annaberg Cathedral Building Dispute of 1518. This is also evident in the architectural structure of the altarpiece, which is crowned with a Venetian semicircular pediment.

Pablo de la Riesta with special thanks to Ursula Timann and Karl Kohn

(June 2021)

Painter unknown, circle of Lucas Cranach Dormition of the Virgin (central panel) Saint Valentine (left wing) Saint Sebald (right wing) The altarpiece was commissioned by Lorenz Pflock (Flock), originally from Nuremberg, son of the tanner Hans Flock and Clara von Ahl (also called von Oehl or von Aal). He immigrated to Annaberg in 1502—four years after the town's founding—and became a wealthy owner of silver mines and even a councilman. Besides the altarpiece, he, his wife Magdalena, his son Wolf, and his daughter-in-law Ursula commissioned reliefs for the gallery balustrade of the church. Pflock also contributed to the church's construction, having his coat of arms and that of his wife placed on one of the keystones of the vault. ... On August 18, 1521, Duke George of Saxony granted permission for the burial of Lorenz Pflock, who was already terminally ill and had donated 1,000 guilders for perpetual masses and a further sum for wine intended for the poor in the hospital, before his altar; Pflock died on August 25, 1521. Pflock commissioned the work from the circle of Lucas Cranach, not forgetting his local patron saint. The painter must have been familiar with Dürer's 1518 print of St. Sebald. The saint appears in the altarpiece wing with his three-lily coat of arms in the lower left. His posture, clothing, attributes, and garland are all modeled on this example. The transformation of the church's architecture from the Gothic original (which the artist, of course, did not know) to a "modernizing" post-Romanesque style is highly interesting, a transformation that takes us back in time to the Orientalizing Romanesque period around 1200. This leads us to works such as the church in Guntersblum or St. Paul's in Worms. Thus, the need to draw on the Gothic tradition cannot be denied—very much in the spirit of the Annaberg Cathedral Building Dispute of 1518. This is also evident in the architectural structure of the altarpiece, which is crowned with a Venetian semicircular pediment.

Pablo de la Riesta with special thanks to Ursula Timann and Karl Kohn

(June 2021)

Painter unknown, circle of Lucas Cranach Dormition of the Virgin (central panel) Saint Valentine (left wing) Saint Sebald (right wing) The altarpiece was commissioned by Lorenz Pflock (Flock), originally from Nuremberg, son of the tanner Hans Flock and Clara von Ahl (also called von Oehl or von Aal). He immigrated to Annaberg in 1502—four years after the town's founding—and became a wealthy owner of silver mines and even a councilman. Besides the altarpiece, he, his wife Magdalena, his son Wolf, and his daughter-in-law Ursula commissioned reliefs for the gallery balustrade of the church. Pflock also contributed to the church's construction, having his coat of arms and that of his wife placed on one of the keystones of the vault. ... On August 18, 1521, Duke George of Saxony granted permission for the burial of Lorenz Pflock, who was already terminally ill and had donated 1,000 guilders for perpetual masses and a further sum for wine intended for the poor in the hospital, before his altar; Pflock died on August 25, 1521. Pflock commissioned the work from the circle of Lucas Cranach, not forgetting his local patron saint. The painter must have been familiar with Dürer's 1518 print of St. Sebald. The saint appears in the altarpiece wing with his three-lily coat of arms in the lower left. His posture, clothing, attributes, and garland are all modeled on this example. The transformation of the church's architecture from the Gothic original (which the artist, of course, did not know) to a "modernizing" post-Romanesque style is highly interesting, a transformation that takes us back in time to the Orientalizing Romanesque period around 1200. This leads us to works such as the church in Guntersblum or St. Paul's in Worms. Thus, the need to draw on the Gothic tradition cannot be denied—very much in the spirit of the Annaberg Cathedral Building Dispute of 1518. This is also evident in the architectural structure of the altarpiece, which is crowned with a Venetian semicircular pediment.

Pablo de la Riesta with special thanks to Ursula Timann and Karl Kohn

(June 2021)

Painter unknown, circle of Lucas Cranach Dormition of the Virgin (central panel) Saint Valentine (left wing) Saint Sebald (right wing) The altarpiece was commissioned by Lorenz Pflock (Flock), originally from Nuremberg, son of the tanner Hans Flock and Clara von Ahl (also called von Oehl or von Aal). He immigrated to Annaberg in 1502—four years after the town's founding—and became a wealthy owner of silver mines and even a councilman. Besides the altarpiece, he, his wife Magdalena, his son Wolf, and his daughter-in-law Ursula commissioned reliefs for the gallery balustrade of the church. Pflock also contributed to the church's construction, having his coat of arms and that of his wife placed on one of the keystones of the vault. ... On August 18, 1521, Duke George of Saxony granted permission for the burial of Lorenz Pflock, who was already terminally ill and had donated 1,000 guilders for perpetual masses and a further sum for wine intended for the poor in the hospital, before his altar; Pflock died on August 25, 1521. Pflock commissioned the work from the circle of Lucas Cranach, not forgetting his local patron saint. The painter must have been familiar with Dürer's 1518 print of St. Sebald. The saint appears in the altarpiece wing with his three-lily coat of arms in the lower left. His posture, clothing, attributes, and garland are all modeled on this example. The transformation of the church's architecture from the Gothic original (which the artist, of course, did not know) to a "modernizing" post-Romanesque style is highly interesting, a transformation that takes us back in time to the Orientalizing Romanesque period around 1200. This leads us to works such as the church in Guntersblum or St. Paul's in Worms. Thus, the need to draw on the Gothic tradition cannot be denied—very much in the spirit of the Annaberg Cathedral Building Dispute of 1518. This is also evident in the architectural structure of the altarpiece, which is crowned with a Venetian semicircular pediment.

Pablo de la Riesta with special thanks to Ursula Timann and Karl Kohn

(June 2021)

Painter unknown, circle of Lucas Cranach Dormition of the Virgin (central panel) Saint Valentine (left wing) Saint Sebald (right wing) The altarpiece was commissioned by Lorenz Pflock (Flock), originally from Nuremberg, son of the tanner Hans Flock and Clara von Ahl (also called von Oehl or von Aal). He immigrated to Annaberg in 1502—four years after the town's founding—and became a wealthy owner of silver mines and even a councilman. Besides the altarpiece, he, his wife Magdalena, his son Wolf, and his daughter-in-law Ursula commissioned reliefs for the gallery balustrade of the church. Pflock also contributed to the church's construction, having his coat of arms and that of his wife placed on one of the keystones of the vault. ... On August 18, 1521, Duke George of Saxony granted permission for the burial of Lorenz Pflock, who was already terminally ill and had donated 1,000 guilders for perpetual masses and a further sum for wine intended for the poor in the hospital, before his altar; Pflock died on August 25, 1521. Pflock commissioned the work from the circle of Lucas Cranach, not forgetting his local patron saint. The painter must have been familiar with Dürer's 1518 print of St. Sebald. The saint appears in the altarpiece wing with his three-lily coat of arms in the lower left. His posture, clothing, attributes, and garland are all modeled on this example. The transformation of the church's architecture from the Gothic original (which the artist, of course, did not know) to a "modernizing" post-Romanesque style is highly interesting, a transformation that takes us back in time to the Orientalizing Romanesque period around 1200. This leads us to works such as the church in Guntersblum or St. Paul's in Worms. Thus, the need to draw on the Gothic tradition cannot be denied—very much in the spirit of the Annaberg Cathedral Building Dispute of 1518. This is also evident in the architectural structure of the altarpiece, which is crowned with a Venetian semicircular pediment.

Pablo de la Riesta with special thanks to Ursula Timann and Karl Kohn

(June 2021)