Visitation

The masterful sculpture of the Visitation is a typical work of an anonymous sculptor coming from Salzburg and Passau whose signature is found on the stone near the bottom edge of the path. The artist received the name Monogramist IP according to IP letters, with which he signed only three works. The master’s oeuvre comprises of forty works, including large altarpieces and sculptures, some of which are a cabinet-size format similar to the Prague one. The small-sized relief appears to have been rather a cabinet work, quite popular in southern Germany, than part of a home altar. At the beginning of the Renaissance, these works were sought after by art collectors. As indicated by the composition, Monogramist IP was inspired by the Visitation woodcut in the Marian cycle of Albrecht Dürer, changing the figures in the back, the landscape, and architectural frame. Residues of the original glaze that deepened the non-polychrome relief are visible in many places. The master used this technique for his other works delivered in Bohemia during the 1520s such as the monumental carved altarpieces – Tyn Altarpiece and Zlíchov Epitaph.