Austrian School, last quarter of the 15th century

With Kunsthandel Hofstätter, Vienna (as Carinthian Master, 15th century);

From whom acquired by the present collector, 2016.

Painted in Austria in the last quarter of the fifteenth century, this panel illustrates a rare episode from the Golden Legend recounting a miracle performed by Saint John the Evangelist. According to the text, the pagan priest Aristodemus—likely one of the assembled figures—agrees to convert to Christianity if John is able to drink a cup of poison and survive. To prove its potency, Aristodemus first administers the poison to two condemned prisoners, who immediately collapse and die at the saint’s feet. John then drinks from the chalice unharmed, and, when Aristodemus persists in his disbelief, performs a final miracle by reviving the dead men, instructing the priest to place his tunic upon them in the name of Christ.