The Crucifixion with a female Saint at the foot of the Cross

This picture shows similarities in style to the work of an anonymous master active in Bern towards the end of the fifteenth century, known for the Saint John Altarpiece in the Dominican Monastery there. This master was one of a group of artists working in and around Bern at the time, who painted a series of altarpieces that share a distinguishing leitmotif of one or more carnations. These are generally understood to be the collective signature of the group, who are known today as the Carnation Masters of Bern (Die Berner Nelkenmeister). Of these, the Master of the Saint John Altarpiece is considered one of the earliest, and is thought to have been born in, or to have studied in Ulm (see A. Stange, Deutsche Malerei der Gotik, VII, 1969, pp. 67-71, figs. 145-154).