ABSTRACT
Born in the Puster valley in south Tyrol, the painter and wood carver Michael Pacher was one of those rare double talents of the late Middle Ages whose reputation reached well beyond his native region. Contemporary documents reveal, however, that he was primarily a painter, like Friedrich Pacher, who is presumed to be a relative. Thus, in spite of his astounding professional activity as a sculp tor, most of his religious works comprise panel paintings and frescoes, including the vault paintings in the old sacristy at the cloister Neustift from about 1470. By 1467 at the latest he directed a workshop in Bruneck.
