| Artist | Albrecht Dürer |
|---|---|
| Year | 1511 |
| Type | Oil on poplar panel |
| Dimensions | 135 cm × 123 cm (53 in × 48 in) |
| Location | Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
Adoration of the Trinity (also known as Landauer Altarpiece; German: Allerheiligenbild or Landauer Altar) is a oil-on-panel painting by German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, executed in 1511 and currently housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.
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The work was commissioned by the rich merchant Matthäus Landauer of Nuremberg, for a chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity and All the Saints in the Zwölfbrüderhaus ("House of Twelve Brothers"), which had been founded by him and Erasmus Schiltkrot. This was a charity institution which could house up to twelve artisans who were no more able to sustain themselves with their work; Landauer himself lived here from 1510 until his death.
The altarpiece was commissioned in 1508, but was delivered only three years later, when it was placed in the church.
The altar had no movable panels, as in numerous previous similar installations, and was included into a rich frame (also designed by Dürer): this has, in the upper part, a carved depiction of the Last Judgement, as well as the donors' coats of arms.
The crowded altarpiece shows, in the upper part, a depiction of the Holy Trinity, with the Father God holding a crucifix with a still alive Jesus. Above them, in a cloud of light surrounded by cherubims, is the Dove of the Holy Ghost. God wears the imperial crown and a wide gilt cloak, lined in green and supported by angels.
Around, inspired by Augustine's theories, the artist painted a host of male and female saints of Heaven, led, respectively, by St. John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary. Below, the human moltitudes are divided between religious men and women (left, led by the pope), and lay men, led by the Holy Roman Emperor, with a division similar to that already adopted by Dürer in the Feast of the Rosary (1506). At the left, near a cardinal who is perhaps interceding for him, is the aged Matthäus Landauer, wearing rich garments and putting down his hat. A peasant, with one of his work instruments, represents the poor classes. On the right is an enigmatic queen whose face is entirely hidden by a veil, which leaves only the eyes barely visible.
The lower sector is occupied by a large landscape with the dawn above a lake, among hills, inspired by landscapes by Albrecht Altdorfer and Joachim Patinir. There is also a self-portrait of Dürer holding a cartouche with the signature and date inscription, saying:
ALBERTUS DURER NORICUS FACIEBAT ANNO A VIRIGINIS PARTU 1511
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