Altarpiece two, three, and multiple panels respectively. In the thirteenth century each panel was usually surmounted with a pinnacle, but during the Renaissance, single panel, or "pala", altarpieces became the norm. In both cases the supporting plinth, or "predella" often featured supplementary and related paintings. If the altar stands free in the choir, both sides of the altarpiece can be covered with painting. The screen, retable or reredos are commonly decorated. Groups of statuary can also be placed "on" an altar. A single church can furthermore house several altarpieces on side-altars in chapels. Sometimes the altarpiece is set on the altar
Jabach Altarpiece Jabach Altarpiece The Jabach Altarpiece is an oil on lime tree panel painting by German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, executed around 1503–1504. Originally a triptych, only the side panels are now preserved: the right picture, measuring 96×54 cm, is housed in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum of Cologne; the left picture, measuring 96×51 cm, is housed in the Städel of Frankfurt. The altarpiece was probably commissioned by Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, for a chapel in his castle at Wittenberg, perhaps in occasion of the end of the plague in 1503. The reconstruction of the work is disputed. Some art historians identify