The Altarpiece from Zátoň

The central panel of the altarpiece features a multi-figural Crucifixion, while the inner sides of the wings describe the main episodes from the legend of St John. The altarpiece was produced by a workshop that was most likely active in the Rožmberk (Rosenberg) residential town of Český Krumlov between the 1430s and 1440s. The same workshop must have also created the Reininghaus Altarpiece and the Altarpiece from Hýrov (likely also from the Zátoň church), as all these works share extensive similarities. However, the differences in artistic hand preclude the possibility that they were made by a single artist. The underdrawings for these works confirm their closeness. The decoration present in the panels of the Zátoň arc is rather marginal, which corresponds with the fact that the work was produced outside the main artistic centres and, being assigned by a church of a periphery Benedictine provostship, did not represent any prestigious commission. As in the case of the Hýrov altarpiece, also most probably intended for Zátoň, the hallmarking of the gilded background is limited to a diamond-shaped mesh inscribed with irregular rosettes.