Mindelheim Altarpiece: Elizabeth and Zacharias with John the Baptist

Bernhard Strigel painted Elizabeth and Zacharias with John the Baptist for the Mindelheim Altarpiece around 1505. The parents of the Baptist were important figures in the Holy Kinship cycle. Strigel's systematic approach to the extended holy family reflects the contemporary genealogical interest in Christ's maternal lineage. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

Oil on panel with careful portrait-like rendering of the holy family members. The figures are presented with Strigel's characteristic formal dignity and precise descriptive technique.