Altarpiece of the Fourteen Holy Helpers from Kadaň

The Kadaň monastery was well-known for its cult of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The present altarpiece was likely commissioned in 1480 when the chancel of the newly built monastery church was consecrated. The center of the altarpiece featured sculptural decoration: the Virgin and Child were flanked by the now missing sculptures of St. Catherine and St. Barbara. The paintings on the wings have recently been attributed to Hans Maler, Jr., a painter mentioned in an archival document from 1479. His father, Hans Maler, Sr. worked in Kadaň and Cheb from 1450 onward. Both the paintings and reliefs resemble contemporary production in Nuremberg, and it is very likely that Hans Maler, Jr. was familiar with the work of Nuremberg painter Michael Wolgemut and his workshop. The surface of both the carvings and the paintings was decorated with tin relief. The artist used two types of designs, both of which were popular in the last quarter of the 15th century, as apparent from the extant collection of medieval painting and sculpture in Swabia, Franconia and Austria. Direct analogs can be found in paintings by Nuremberg workshops (Hans Pleydenwurff, Michael Wolgemut and his circle).