Artwork
The Visitation with a portrait of donor Johann von Hirtz (?-?)
The Visitation with a portrait of donor Johann von Hirtz (?-?) is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Master of the Life of the Virgin. It dates from 1462 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The panel depicts the Visitation, showing the Virgin Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
The panel depicts the Visitation, showing the Virgin Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. Both women are shown embracing, emphasizing their shared joy and the fulfillment of divine prophecy. In the lower left, a kneeling donor portrait of Johann von Hirtz is included, identified by inscription and heraldry.
The donor’s inclusion aligns with late medieval devotional practice, linking personal piety with sacred narrative. The oak panel’s dimensions (85.7 × 110 cm) frame the scene within a coherent spatial setting, reinforcing the theological bond between the two events.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting on oak panel, created in 1462 by the Master of the Life of the Virgin. It depicts the biblical Visitation and includes a donor portrait of Johann von Hirtz. The painting measures 85.7 cm in height and 110 cm in width, and is housed in the Alte Pinakothek, part of the Bavarian State Painting Collections. Its style reflects early Netherlandish religious art, with meticulous oil technique and richly detailed composition.
History & Provenance
The Visitation with a portrait of donor Johann von Hirtz was created around 1462 by the Master of the Life of the Virgin, as indicated by the work’s title and its dated inception. The painting, executed in oil on an oak panel, depicts the Visitation and includes a likeness of the donor Johann von Hirtz. It is now part of the Bavarian State Painting Collections and displayed at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. No earlier ownership or commission details are provided in the available sources.
Context
The painting is recognized as an early Netherlandish work reflecting the devotional intensity of 15th-century religious art, situated within the oeuvre of the Master of the Life of the Virgin whose documented activity aligns with the documented date of 1462. Scholarship highlights its dual function as both a devotional image and a donor portrait, emphasizing the inclusion of Johann von Hirtz as a commemorative element that connects the sacred narrative to private patronage. The work's technical execution in oil on oak panel and its compositional focus on the Visitation scene demonstrate the stylistic characteristics of the period while also illustrating the artist's broader engagement with narrative cycles from the Life of the Virgin.
Its placement in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek underscores its significance within institutional holdings of early German Renaissance art.
Overview
Created in 1462, this oil painting by the anonymous Master of the Life of the Virgin is titled The Visitation with a portrait of donor Johann von Hirtz. It is part of the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich and combines a biblical episode with a donor portrait integrated into the composition.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Master of the Life of the Virgin
This anonymous painter worked in the 1470s, specializing in small devotional panels that tell the story of Mary’s life.
The Life of Mary: Joachim meets Anna at the Golden Gate; in the background the Annunciation of the birth of Mary to Joachim by an angel (verso: upper half of the Crucifixion of Christ)
Maria mit dem Kind
The Life of Mary: the Assumption of Mary (verso: lower half of the Coronation of Mary)
The Engagement of Mary (verso: upper half of the Coronation of Mary)
The Life of Mary: the Annunciation (lower half of the Crucifixion of Christ)
Portrait of an unknown master builder
The life of Mary: the presentation of Mary in the temple
Virgin and Child with Three Saints
- The visitation
The Visitation
The Visitation
Triptych with Scenes from the Life of the Virgin
Nativity
Heimsuchung Mariae zwischen St. Ursula mit den Zehntausend Jungfrauen und St. Martha. Aussenseiten der Flügel: Verkündigung Mariae
The Marriage of the Virgin, with the Expulsion of Saint Joachim from the Temple, the Angel Appearing to Saint Joachim, the Meeting at the Golden Gate, the Birth of the Virgin, and the Presentation of the Virgin
Zurückweisung des Opfers Joachims und Annas
Baptism of Dymphna, with the Death of Dymphna’s Mother Represented in the Background