After years of dispute over its location, an altarpiece by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) from Naumburg Cathedral in Saxony-Anhalt has found temporary exile in Rome. The work of art, which was badly damaged in the 16th century and completed again a few years ago by the Leipzig painter Michael Triegel, is now in a church right next to St. Peter's Basilica. It is to remain there until the fall of 2027 - in the hope that a solution to the dispute will have been found in Germany by then.
The Cranach-Triegel Altarpiece has been the subject of debate for years. Its actual home is the Protestant Naumburg Cathedral, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site. However, some experts are of the opinion that the modernized altar in the west choir of the church impairs the view of the high medieval founder figures. There are even fears that the cathedral could lose its Unesco title as a result.
