Artwork
The Burial of Saint Wenceslas
The Burial of Saint Wenceslas is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Master of Eggenburg. It dates from 1496 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition features the deceased duke alongside a male figure and Saint Vitus, reflecting the specific hagiographic narrative of the saint's interment.
Created around 1490 by the Master of Eggenburg, this religious panel depicts the funeral rites of Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia. The composition features the deceased duke alongside a male figure and Saint Vitus, reflecting the specific hagiographic narrative of the saint's interment. Executed in oil paint and gold leaf on spruce, the work utilizes these materials to elevate the spiritual significance of the scene, a common practice in late Gothic devotional art.
The painting serves as a visual representation of piety and royal sanctity, commemorating the Bohemian patron saint. Its iconography focuses on the solemnity of the burial event, grounding the viewer in the historical and sacred moment of Wenceslas's transition, while the inclusion of Saint Vitus underscores the dynastic and religious connections vital to the saint's legacy.
Technique & Style
The Burial of Saint Wenceslas is executed in oil paint with gold leaf, applied to a spruce panel support. The work is classified as a painting and falls within the religious genre. Its modest dimensions, 68.9 cm in height by 43.2 cm in width, indicate an intimate, panel-based format typical of late fifteenth-century devotional production.
The combination of oil medium with gold leaf suggests a traditional handling in which gilded passages likely function as background or ornamental highlights, while oil paint carries the figural and narrative elements of the burial scene. As a small-scale religious panel, the work would have been designed for close, contemplative viewing, with the spruce ground providing a rigid, stable support suited to fine detail and luminous surface effects.
History & Provenance
The Burial of Saint Wenceslas was painted circa 1490 by the Master of Eggenburg, a Bohemian workshop documented as active in the late 15th century. The work, executed in oil on spruce panel with gold leaf decoration, measures 68.9 × 43.2 cm and belongs to the religious painting genre. Its creation is recorded under the inception date 1490‑00‑00.
The painting entered the ownership of Baron von Tinti and later passed to collector William Rosenwald before being acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view. The work has been included in exhibitions such as “Space in Painting.”
The Burial of Saint Wenceslas is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is part of the museum's painting collection. The work was acquired through the bequest of William Rosenwald and previously belonged to Baron von Tinti; its accession number is not specified in the available records. Executed circa 1490 by the Master of Eggenburg, the oil‑on‑spruce panel measures 68.9 × 43.2 cm and incorporates gold leaf. The painting has been featured in the exhibition titled "Space in Painting," which highlights its compositional depth.
Overview
This oil painting, titled The Burial of Saint Wenceslas, was created in 1496 by the artist known as the Master of Eggenburg. The work is a religious depiction, currently housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It portrays a significant moment in the life of Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, rendered with a solemn and reverent tone.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Master of Eggenburg is the conventional name given to an anonymous Austrian painter active in the late fifteenth century, roughly between 1475 and 1500, in Lower Austria.
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