Arms of husband and wife are set within an elaborate baroque architectural frame. The shields are surmounted by barred helms with rich mantling of the heraldic colors. Their crests are silhouetted against white and yellow ribboned grounds. A balustrade extends across the top of the panel; it surmounts a red double arch whose center presents a shield with the IHS monograph for Jesus within a blue cartouche. At the sides are the name saints of the donors, to the left the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II who carries the cathedral of Bamberg, and to the right, Elizabeth of Hungary who gives food to a beggar. In the level below them are depictions of military equipment including cannon, shields, and lances. The lower third of the panel is occupied by the inscription panel. A rectangular text on uncolored glass is set within a red and blue border embellished with three-dimensional scroll work at top and bottom.

When examined in 2009 by the author, the leading was extremely fragile. Referencing a photograph from 1985, it is evident that significant portions of the inscription plate and border to the right have been lost, as well as a small section of the mantling of the wife’s arms and the cannon to the left. There are a number of unmended cracks, as well as numerous repair leads. The painting, however, is intact, with almost no corrosion or weathering

Between 1662 and 1669, a series of panels was apparently created for the Lucerne Rathaus by Jakob Geilinger the Elder (1611–1677), a prominent painter in mid-seventeenth century Lucerne (Lehmann, 1941, pp. 200–210, figs. 285, 286; Habegger, 2001, pp. 103–106). Despite the repeated format, they are lively and varied. The donors are honored by the display of lineage, and at the same time invoke piety through the presence of patron saints. The inscription names the man as a member of the Inneren Rhats (Inner Council) of the Praiseworthy City of Lucerne and a number of the families appear to be interrelated. Heinrich III. von Fleckenstein (1578?–1664) was married in 1597 to Jakobea Maria Kündig with whom he had two children. In 1618 he inherited the town and dominion over the territory of Heidegg, twenty-five kilometers north of Lucerne. In 1646 he married Elisabeth Meyer (from Freiburg) then aged sixty-eight. He was one of the wealthiest and most influential citizens of the region. He supported the Hofkirche (Court Church), the Jesuit school, and the city hospital, as well as serving in multiple roles in government, notably mayor of Lucerne during the Swiss Peasant War of 1653.

Above, the monogram of the name of Jesus, IHS, identifies the Catholic association of the patrons, as do their saints. To the left is the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II (reigned 1002 – 1024). Henry was the last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty and was canonized in 1147. He wears the Imperial crown and carries his traditional attribute, a model of the cathedral of Bamberg, a reference to his founding of the diocese of Bamberg in 1007 (Réau, 1955–59) III/2, pp. 636–39; Herder Lexikon, 1968–76, 6, cols. 478–81). To the right is St. Elizabeth of Hungary, also known as St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, who gives bread and drink to a beggar at her feet. Elizabeth was a widely respected model of royal piety. She was betrothed at an early age to the Landgrave of Thuringia, and lived at the Wartburg castle. She early showed signs of deep religious sensitivity and acts of charity. Influenced by Franciscan teaching, after her husband’s death in 1227 she went to Marburg to become one of the earliest tertiaries (Third Order) of the movement. In 1228 she founded a Franciscan hospital in the city and was active in administering to the sick. She died in 1231 at the age of 24 and was canonized four years later in 1235. That same year, the Teutonic Knights founded the shrine and the church of St. Elizabeth in Marburg (Réau, 1955–59, III/1, pp. 416–21). Hans Holbein the Elder’s presentation of St. Elizabeth in the right wing of the altarpiece of St. Sebastian of 1516 shows the same positioning of the saint; she pours drink into a cup for a beggar and holds a loaf of bread in her right hand (Alte Pinakothek, Munich; Herder Lexikon, 1968–76) 6, cols. 131–40, fig. 1).

Cited in:
LACMA Quarterly, 1945, pp. 5–10.
Normile, 1946, pp. 43–44.
Hayward, 1989, p .80.
Raguin, 2024, vol. 1, pp. 246–51, 253–55.