Saint Erasmus and Saint Maurice
Saint Erasmus and Saint Maurice is an oil on wood painting by German artist Matthias Grünewald. It was commissioned by Albert of Brandenburg, executed between 1520 and 1524, and originally intended for the new cathedral in Halle. It is now held at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Description Saint Erasmus stands proudly, dressed in luxurious episcopal vestments, on the left. He holds in his right hand the testimony of his martyrdom, the spindle wrapped in entrails torn from his body with a ship's winch. Opposite him stands Saint Maurice, believed to have been of black African origin, in a silver armor. He addresses Saint Erasmus by raising his hand clad in a white glove. Maurice, according to the legend, was the leader of the "Thebes Legion", in which only Christian soldiers served. This legion was stationed at Thebes in Egypt and was slain because of their refusal to take part in the persecution of Christians during the reign of Diocletian. Behind St. Erasmus there is a gray-haired abbot, a scholar and an adviser to the archbishop. Behind St. Maurice, there are its hardened soldiers. The poses, movements, clothing, facial expressions and colors of the four figures depicted in the painting