Altarpiece of the Church Fathers: St Augustine and St Gregory
by PACHER, Michael, Wood, 212 x 100 cm
Pacher was an Austrian painter and sculptor. His elaborate altarpieces combine painted panels with carved wooden figures. His best known work, the Saint Wolfgang Altarpiece (1481, Sankt Wolfgang, Austria), with scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary and the legend of St. Wolfgang, is one of the first Austrian works of art to show Italian Renaissance influence, particularly that of the painter Andrea Mantegna.
His efforts to realize in his works the unity of wood sculpting and painting can be observed in the painting only Church Fathers altarpiece too, as demonstrated by the architectonic ornamentation painted in an illusory way.
This reproduction shows the central panel of the Church Fathers altarpiece.