Schotten Altarpiece

The central highlight in the Schottenstift Abbey Museum is the late Gothic Viennese Schotten Altar, which was created between 1469 and 1475 by the Master of the Schotten Altarpiece. As the artist or artists (presumably from Nuremberg) are unknown by name, this designation is chosen.

The open winged altar (=Sunday side), originally made for the choir of the church of St. Mary in Schotten, shows a Marian cycle in 13 scenes, 3 panels are no longer extant, 2 panels can be seen in the original in the Belvedere and are shown as a copy. The closed state (=working day side) shows a passion cycle.

Due to the quality of the execution, the wing paintings are among the most important medieval works of art in Vienna. Particularly noteworthy is the panel „Flucht nach Ägypten“ (Exodus to Egypt) with a faithful representation of Vienna in the 15th century, unusually even with a starry sky.

Interested to have a closer look at the altar with the historical buildings? On request, I am happy to offer a guided tour of this unique museum of Vienna!