description Paumgartner Altarpiece Overview
Albrecht Dürer's Paumgartner Altarpiece is a triptych commissioned by the Paumgartner family of Nuremberg around 1498-1504 and now in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. The central panel depicts the Nativity with small donor figures, while the wings present Saint George and Saint Eustace as monumental standing warriors. Its combination of family commemoration, religious devotion, and close observation is characteristic of Dürer's panel painting.
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Who painted the Paumgartner Altarpiece?
The Paumgartner Altarpiece was painted by the Nuremberg master Albrecht Dürer around 1498–1504. It is one of Dürer's earliest major altarpiece commissions and dates from the period of his rising fame as a Northern Renaissance artist.
Where is the Paumgartner Altarpiece displayed today?
The altarpiece is held by the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, which houses one of the world's most important collections of early German painting. It entered the Bavarian state collection through centuries of Wittelsbach patronage.
What does the Paumgartner Altarpiece depict?
The central panel shows the Nativity, while the two wings feature Saints George and Eustace rendered as small donor-like knights. Tiny portraits of the Paumgartner family donors, Lucas and his brothers, appear in the corners of the wings.
What format is the Paumgartner Altarpiece?
It is a triptych, meaning a three-paneled altarpiece with a central image flanked by two hinged wings. The format was traditional for German devotional art of the late 15th century, but Dürer infused it with Italian Renaissance spatial logic.
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