Isenheim Altarpiece (third view)

The Isenheim Altarpiece, painted by Matthias Gr�newald, was executed for the hospital chapel of Saint Anthony’s Monastery in Isenheim in Alsace. It is now at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, a nearby town.

The Isenheim Altar is a complicated structure with four layers of painted surfaces - that is, two sets of folding wings, like a double cupboard, enclosing the final altarpiece, which consists of three carved wood statues of saints. There are also two side panels and a predella.

There are three views of the altarpiece. The third view with wings opened discloses the innermost shrine, carved by Nikolaus Haguenauer. The two panels flanking it depicts Sts Paul and Anthony in the Desert and a Temptation of St Anthony.