Altar of Our Lady

Over the Annunciation in the predella, a central arch opens with the Adoration of the Shepherds. Above this is a depiction of the Coronation of the Virgin and the patron saint is seen in the extension.

A dynamic composition which borrows elements from Mannerism as well as early Baroque, this work represents a transition from the German altarpiece of the late Gothic period to the High Baroque altar. It ranks alongside the finest works of German Gothic sculpture by such masters as Michael Pacher (1435-98), renowned for the St Wolfgang Altarpiece (1471-81); Veit Stoss (1445-1533), best remembered for the High Altar of St Mary's Church, Krakow, Poland; and Tilman Riemenschneider (1460-1531), who carved the famous Holy Blood Altar, Rothenburg ob der Tauber.