Isenheim Altar

Isenheim Altar, altarpiece (1512?-1515?) by 16th-century German painter Matthias Grünewald, now in the Musée d’Unterlinden in Colmar, France. The altarpiece was created for the convent of the order of Saint Anthony at Isenheim, in the Alsace region of France. Its majestic series of paintings is considered one of the most important works from the Renaissance in northern Europe.

The altarpiece is a polyptych, several panels hinged together, a collaboration between painter and woodcarver. The carving is a centerpiece of Saint Anthony enthroned, with Saint Augustine and Saint Jerome. There are also carvings in the predella (altar rails) of Christ and the 12 apostles. The painted scenes by Grünewald, which can be viewed by opening or closing the nine different panels, depict biblical stories: Saint Anthony and Saint Paul in the Wilderness, Temptation of Saint Anthony, Annunciation, Concert of Angels, Nativity, Resurrection, and Crucifixion. Crucifixion, flanked by portraits of Saint Anthony and Saint Sebastian, is visible when the altarpiece is closed. The image of Saint Sebastian is said to be a self-portrait by Grünewald.