Armorial panel of the town of Breisach,

Description

The armorial panel of Breisach depicts the brothers St Gervasius and St Protasius whose bones had supposedly been brought to Breisach on the Upper Rhine from Milan in 1162 by Rainald von Dassel, archbishop of Cologne and chancellor to Emperor Frederick 1. Veneration of the brothers as patron saints of Breisach reached a peak towards the end of the Middle Ages, and a large number of images of them were created in the region. Like the figures on the high altar of Breisach Munster executed a few years later by Master H.L., the saints are represented in princely attire holding the implements indicating their martyrs' death, the scourge and the sword. There is an unmistakable stylistic link with drawings by Hans Baldung Grien, who worked in Strasbourg and Freiburg in Breisgau. The picture above with a cheerful bathing and fishing scene also reveals his influence.