STETTER, Wilhelm - b. ~1487 , d. 1552 Strasbourg

German painter. He was known as the ‘Master W.S. with the Maltese Cross’ when his paintings were first grouped together in 1930 but was properly identified in 1952. Stetter was both a religious painter and a Catholic priest (ordained in Basle, 1512). He entered the order of the Knights of St John in Strasbourg c. 1509-10, became the custodian of the order in 1522 and remained there until his death. Inventories suggest that many of Stetter’s paintings were created for this order.

The 26 known paintings by Stetter show a knowledge of the early works of Hans Baldung, in whose workshop he may have participated c. 1510-12. Stetter used a bright palette, in a mixed technique of oil and tempera. His works are characterized by ornate architecture, atmospheric landscapes and the repetition of figural types.

His earliest known work, the Nativity, is dated 1513 (private collection). Four paintings in the cathedral of St John the Divine, New York, can be attributed to Stetter; they originally belonged to the same altarpiece as St Wolfgang and the Citizens of Regensburg (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg). Other works by the artist include: Christ before Pilate (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg), the Lamentation ( St Pierre-le-Jeune, Strasbourg), the Nativity (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg), the Adoration of the Three Kings (Walters Art Museum, Baltimore), the Annunciation (Augustinermuseum, Freiburg im Breisgau) and four paintings in Nancy (Musée des Beaux-Arts).

Adoration of the Three King

The wise men who, according to the Gospels, came from the East to adore the Christ Child and acknowledge his divinity, were often depicted as kings, underscoring the importance of their homage. The star that they followed is in the upper left corner. The oldest king, a regal European, kneels before the Child and his mother. The middle-aged Turkish potentate, wearing a turban, looks back through the doorway in the ruin where the holy family has taken refuge toward the youngest ruler, a vigorous young African, attired in elegant 16th-century German fashion. His facial features are more individualized than those of the other two, and it may be that he is based on a study made from life. In the distance, some of the kings’ followers ride horses with very long necks, surely the artist’s attempt at camels!

The painter has created a kind of stage set for his drama, using a perspective system made popular by his famous fellow countryman Albrecht D�rer. The receding lines marked out in the masonry go back, more or less, to one point, the hand of the man in the doorway (at centre).