Michael Pacher's masterpiece, the Altarpiece for the Pilgrimage Church of Sankt Wolfgang in Upper Austria (centre completed in 1479; wings completed in 1481) is one of the largest and most impressive carved and painted altar shrines in all of European art. The carved, painted, and gilded centrepiece represents the Coronation of the Virgin, and there are two sets of painted wings with scenes of the Life of Christ and of the local, miracle-working saint, Wolfgang. The whole complex is surmounted by an intricate wooden superstructure containing the Crucifixion. In the central shrine Christ is enthroned, solemnly blessing his mother, whom he has crowned as Queen of Heaven. Angels, beloved in German Gothic art, flutter about, while the life-sized figures of St Wolfgang and John the Evangelist bear witness. His brittle and agitated sculptural style demanded that each element be freestanding in a space that is deeply recessed.

The painted panels, with their deep architectural perspective and dramatic foreshortening, indicate a knowledge of Andrea Mantegna. The sculptural portions, with their intricate detail, bright polychrome, and sweeping draperies, show his attachment to northern traditions; and the architectural elements show an extravagant version of the late Gothic style.

Pacher was one of the earliest artists to introduce the principles of Renaissance painting into German-speaking regions.

Preview	Picture Data	Info
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece 1479-81 Polychrome pine Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	Coronation of the Virgin between St Wolfgang and St Benedict 1479-81 Polychrome pine Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	Coronation of the Virgin 1471-81 Wood, gilt and polychromed Parish Church, St. Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: Nativity 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: Circumcision 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: Scenes from the Life of Christ 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm (each panel) Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: Baptism of Christ 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: Temptation of Christ 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: The Attempt to Stone Christ 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: Purification of the Temple 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: Scenes from the Life of Christ 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm (each panel) Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: Marriage at Cana 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: The Miracle of the Bread 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: Christ and the Adulteress 1479-81 Wood, 173 x 140,5 cm Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang
	St Wolfgang Altarpiece: Resurrection of Lazarus 1479-81 Tempera on wood, 175 x 130 cm Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang