Medieval Polyptych – from the Passion of Christ to Pentecost

This altarpiece is in the Alte Galerie, Graz, Styria. In the middle ages, winged altars served the purpose to explain the bible to the faithful (printed books came later). Often, panels were painted on the front and the back and could be folded according to the liturgical season (displaying the Passion of Christ in Lent and other scenes from Christ’s life during the rest of the year).
I liked this particularly because it brings Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection and Christ’s sending the Holy Spirit at Pentecost into a unity.