Tomb of Saint Sebaldus

In the east chancel of Saint Sebaldus Church in Nuremberg stands the monument to Sebaldus, the patron saint of the city. The tomb was made by Peter Vischer the Elder and his workshop between 1507 and 1519. The hermit from Nuremberg lived in the eleventh century and was canonised in 1425, as the flourishing of the town was ascribed to his efforts. The bronze tomb with elaborate figural decorations holds a reliquary made in the late fourteenth century. Vischer’s work represents the transition from German medieval art to the Renaissance, as the Gothic architectural structure is complemented by Renaissance details and motifs. In front of the baldachin columns, we see figures of the twelve apostles, while the base of the reliquary is decorated with scenes from the legend of the saint. A self-portrait of Peter Vischer, master of the work, is also found on the monument: the figure, wearing the leather apron of the master casters, stands in a niche on the shorter side of the pedestal.