Part of the St. Peter Altarpiece of 1444 the Miraculous Draught of Fishes is the most famous of the surviving works of the Swiss painter Konrad Witz. Ironically, this painting is famous not because of the painting techniques employed, the Biblical subject, or the inclusion of Jesus Christ. This Witz painting is believed to be the first real landscape painting. Yes, there were paintings of landscapes which pre-date this one but, this is the first known painting where the landscape is recognizable as a real place. Prior to Witz painting the Miraculous Draught of Fishes, the setting for landscape paintings was always the work of the imagination of the painter. While the Biblical story being represented here certainly did not take place in Switzerland, the mountains and lake in the background are recognizable as Lake Geneva and the Saleve Mountains, including Mount Blanc.
To learn more about Konrad Witz and see more of his famous paintings, please visit our profile of Konrad Witz.