Commissioned by the Freiherren von Sternbach of Bruneck Castle, Bruneck, South Tyrol, Italy;
Anonymous sale, Vienna, Dorotheum, 15 March 1961;
There purchased by the husband of the present owner.

H. Waschgler, "Der Maler Simon von Tesido (Taisten)" , in Der Schlern, vol. 16, 1935, p. 290-302;
Weingartner: Die Kunstdenkmäler Südtirols I, Vienna 1923, p. 600;
A. Stange, Deutsche Malerei der Gotik, Salzburg, Bayern und Tirol in der Zeit von 1400 – 1500, Berlin 1960, pp. 193-195, reproduced, fig. 316;
Thieme-Becker 31/32 69; 
L. Andergassen, "Simon von Taisten als Freskenmaler", in Louis Oberwalder/Peter Thomas Ruggenthaler, Innsbruck 2003, p. 103-125.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. Both of these panels have been cradled on the reverse. The wood is flat. Although the panels bear a patina of age, they seem to have been recently restored. I would recommend that they be hung in their current condition. The panels both show a diagonal crack running from the outer shallow corner to the inner right angle corner in the center of the work. It may be these triangular sections are not original. It seems that a lot of the restorations to the painting are not visible under ultraviolet light. Although there are spots of restoration visible here and there in both paintings, it is unlikely that these few spots are the only restorations to the works. As one would expect from complex tooled gilded works such as these, there are other losses which have been restored, which are not identifiable under ultraviolet light. It is recommended that the paintings be hung in their current state.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

As his name suggests, Simon von Taisten was active in the province of Welsberg-Taisten in the southern Tyrol, and in the gothic styling of the present panels, the influence of his Tyrolian contemporaries Michael and Friedrich Pacher, is clearly evident. By 1484 he was the head of a flourishing and highly active workshop, capable of executing large scale altarpieces and fresco cycles. One such fresco cycle, and perhaps his most ambitious, is that depicting scenes from the life of Saint Christopher, and the Crucifixion of St. Nicholas Church in the Church of St. Nicholas in Obertilliach.