For his feature-length documentary *Triegel Meets Cranach: Painting in the Clash of the Ages* (2026), director Paul Smaczny spent several years following painter Michael Triegel, offering an exceptionally detailed and insightful look at the creation of an extraordinary work of art. In the process, Triegel not only opens the doors to his studio but also offers deep insights into his understanding of art, religion, and family.
Michael Triegel’s painting style differs markedly from that of his colleagues in the Leipzig School, such as his friend Neo Rauch. Triegel paints in the style of the Old Masters and cites Michelangelo, Raphael, and Dürer as his role models. In 2020, Triegel received an extraordinary commission: to design the destroyed central panel of the altar in Naumburg Cathedral. Nearly 500 years earlier, the painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder had fallen victim to iconoclasm, and only the side panels of the altar survived. Because there are no records whatsoever of the central panel depicting the Virgin Mary with the Child, Triegel must create an entirely new “old” painting…
Some time ago, the filmmakers from Gessin visited Naumburg Cathedral. In the west wing, they stood before the altar there. This experience inspired today’s documentary film, “Triegel Meets Cranach—Painting in the Clash of the Ages”: Rome Instead of Naumburg—Triegel Altar Must Go: https://www.mdr.de/tv/livestream/event-sendungen/sendung-1064130.html
