Circle of the Master of the Schotten Altarpiece

This name stands for painters working in Vienna around 1480 who followed one anonymous master closely, in his manner and perhaps in his workshop. That master is known only through his great winged altarpiece, made between 1469 and 1475 for the Schottenstift, the Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of the Scots in Vienna. Its panels are admired for their backgrounds, which include some of the earliest faithful views of Vienna and of Krems on the Danube.

The Belvedere's panel from this circle, painted around 1480, tells a Dominican legend. Christ appears in heaven about to hurl three lances at a sinful world, and the Virgin Mary steps in, presenting two men who will win it back. In the traditional telling they are Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers, and Francis of Assisi. The narrow panel, about 72 centimetres tall, was given to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in 1931 by the collector Baron Joseph van der Elst and moved to the Belvedere in 1953.