Weihenstephaner Altar: Disputation des hl. Stephanus Rückseite: ehemals Relief

Jan Polack painted this panel of Saint Stephen's Disputation from the Weihenstephan Altar around 1486 for the Benedictine monastery of Weihenstephan near Freising. The reverse once bore a relief, indicating this was part of an elaborate altarpiece combining painting and sculpture. Polack's commissions for Bavarian monasteries demonstrate the continued importance of monastic patronage in late medieval art. This work belongs to the Early Renaissance, the transformative period in European art when painters first applied mathematical perspective, naturalistic figure modeling, and archaeological interest in antiquity to the inherited traditions of medieval devotional painting.

Oil on panel with Polack's characteristically vigorous narrative composition. The disputation scene shows multiple figures in animated debate, reflecting his talent for dramatic religious narratives.