Detwang Altarpiece

The Detwang Altarpiece is housed in the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Detwang, a village near Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, Germany. It remains in the church for which it was created, making it one of the relatively few Riemenschneider works still in its original setting.

The Detwang Altarpiece is attributed to the workshop of Tilman Riemenschneider or to the master himself, though like many late medieval works the exact division of labor between the master and his assistants is debated among art historians. It is consistently associated with Riemenschneider's oeuvre due to its stylistic and technical characteristics.

The Detwang Altarpiece features a central carved Crucifixion scene, surrounded by additional Passion narrative elements in its wings and surrounding figures. It was created in the early sixteenth century and is a representative example of Riemenschneider's masterful woodcarving of devotional subjects.

The Detwang Altarpiece is associated with Riemenschneider's characteristic limewood carving tradition, and many of his works were left largely unpainted, emphasizing the sculptural quality of the wood surface. This monochrome treatment distinguishes Riemenschneider's style from the brightly polychromed altarpieces that were also common in the period.