The panel was originally hung near the tomb of the canon Georg Nothaft located in the cathedral’s central nave. An epitaph was associated to it, commemorating the donor, Nothaft, who came from Regensburg and was a close associate of the bishops Hinderbach and Frundsberg. He died in Trento on 22 February 1490. He is depicted in the lower left corner with the red cap in his hands and on his shoulders a precious almuce, the fur mantle prevailingly worn by the canons of several minor chapters as a sign of their rank compared to ordinary priests.
At the sides of the Virgin with Child, crowned by a group of musical angels, stand Saint George, the patron saint of the donor of the painting, in shining armour, and Saint Vigilius. The diocese’s patron saint is cloaked in an ornate cope on the clasp of which one recognises the figure of Saint Massenza. He is also wearing the ceremonial gloves and has many rings on his fingers. He is holding a clog and an ivory crosier from the hook of which emerges the bust of the Virgin with Child.
The work is attributed to a painter in the entourage of Rueland Frueauf the Elder (1445 circa-1507), an artist who worked in the Salzburg area up until 1480 and then in Passau