Two Roman pilgrims, probably Saint Judoc and a companion (Saint Coloman of Stockerau?),
oil and tempera on panel, 74 x 41.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private collection, Vienna

We are grateful to Christof Metzger for his kind assistance in cataloguing the present painting.

In 1950, Ludwig Baldass identified the present composition as a work by an artist from the Viennese School dating from around 1480. However, the painting appears not to have been executed in Vienna, but in Zips (Spis), a region that formed part of what was once referred to as Upper Hungary and is now Northeastern Slovakia, with the towns of Kaschau (Kosice), Leutschau (Levoca), Käsmark (Kezmarok), and Bartfeld (Bardejov).

In the local churches of the region, which in those days were wealthy thanks to the mining industry, it is still possible to find triptychs of quality. The coloured floor in the present picture, transitioning into an embossed gold ground, can frequently be seenin the region’s altarpieces, such as in the Saint Catherine Altar from 1493 in Kezmarok, Slovakia. The Altar of the Our Lady (1493/94) from Kirchdrauf (Spisské Podhradie), now in the National Gallery in Bratislava, is also comparable to the present composition. The conspicuous volume of the figures, which is due to the generous and three-dimensionally rendered drapery of their garments, is also a characteristic feature of these altarpieces.