Abraham before Melchizedek

Konrad Witz was a Swiss-German painter active in the early 15th century, known for his precise oil paintings and innovative use of landscape as a defining formal element. Working in Basel during the early Northern Renaissance, he brought a new naturalism to religious altarpieces, rendering architectural and topographical settings with archaeological specificity. His most celebrated work, the Miraculous Draught of Fishes panel from the Saint Peter Altarpiece, depicts Lake Geneva with documented accuracy, establishing him as a pioneer in the integration of observed geography into devotional art. His technique and spatial ambition influenced subsequent Burgundian and German painting.

Rottweil, Germany