Isenheim Altarpiece
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Chapel_of_Unterlinden_Museum_with_Isenheim_altarpiece.jpg/300px-Chapel_of_Unterlinden_Museum_with_Isenheim_altarpiece.jpg)
The Isenheim Altarpiece is an
Composition
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Grunewald_Isenheim1.jpg/300px-Grunewald_Isenheim1.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Grunewald_Isenheim2.jpg/300px-Grunewald_Isenheim2.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Matthias_Gr%C3%BCnewald_-_Isenheim_Altarpiece_%28third_view%29_-_WGA10758.jpg/300px-Matthias_Gr%C3%BCnewald_-_Isenheim_Altarpiece_%28third_view%29_-_WGA10758.jpg)
(the wings in this picture are actually the back of those in the second one, so that they can be seen when the altar is closed, with the saints Anthony and Paul at the right side and the demons at the left)
The altarpiece has two sets of wings, displaying three configurations:
Wings closed:
With the exception of certain holy days, the wings of the altarpiece were kept closed, displaying The Crucifixion framed on the left by the martyrdom of
At Christ's left, John the Baptist is accompanied by a lamb, symbolising the sacrifice of Jesus. The presence of John the Baptist is anachronistic. Beheaded by order of Herod in 29 AD, he could not possibly have witnessed the death of Christ. This last figure announces the New Testament by crying out in Latin, illum oportet crescere me autem minui (Vulgate, John 3:30), "He must increase, but I must decrease."[4] The inclusion of John the Baptist in this scene is symbolic, since he is considered as the last of the prophets to announce the coming of the Messiah.
Outer wings opened:
The outer wings of the Isenheim Altarpiece were opened for important festivals of the liturgical year, particularly those in honour of the Virgin Mary. Thus are revealed four scenes: the left wing represents the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Isenheim_Altarpiece_-_Concert_of_Angels.jpg/299px-Isenheim_Altarpiece_-_Concert_of_Angels.jpg)
A number of symbols provide keys to aid in interpretation: the enclosed garden represents Mary's womb and is a sign of her perpetual virginity, the rose bush without thorns refers to her as free of original sin, the fig tree symbolises mother's milk. The bed, the bucket and the chamber pot underscore the human nature of Christ. Lastly, the right wing shows the Resurrection, in which Christ emerges from the tomb and ascends into Heaven bathed in light transfiguring the countenance of the Crucified into the face of God. The Resurrection and the Ascension are therefore encapsulated in a single image.
Inner wings opened:
– The sculptures of
– Visit of Saint Anthony to Saint Paul the Hermit. The two hermits meet in a stunning landscape, intended to represent the Theban Desert. Grünewald created a fantastic universe, surrounding the date palm with a strange mixture of vegetation, in marked contrast with the calmness and tranquillity of the encounter, in which the animals in attendance take part, with the crow bringing two morsels of bread to the two recluses. In this dreamlike scene, medicinal plants, painted in naturalistic fashion, sprout at the feet of the two main figures.
– Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons. This panel depicts Saint Anthony being tormented by monstrous creatures sent by Satan. Trampled to the ground, beaten with sticks, torn by claws and bitten, Saint Anthony appeals to God for help who sends angels to combat these evil demons. In the lower left corner, the being with webbed feet and a distended belly seems to personify the disease caused by ergot poisoning, resulting in swelling and ulcerous growths.
Iconography
The iconography of the altarpiece has several unusual elements derived from closely following the accounts left by
Recent history
The altarpiece's location in Alsace has meant that, in recent times, control of the work has alternated between Germany and France according to the fortunes of war.
In the immediate postwar period the altarpiece, with its strong overtones of violent sensation and emotion, became a natural source of inspiration for many painters in the influential
Due to renovation work in the former convent and until April 2015, the Isenheim Altarpiece was on view in the local Dominican Church, located about 200 metres from the Unterlinden Museum. This temporary transfer offered an exceptional and unprecedented opportunity to present, alongside Grünewald and Haguenau's monumental masterwork, all three painted works by the Colmar native Martin Schongauer held in Colmar: the Orlier Altarpiece (1470–1475), the Altarpiece of the Dominicans (c. 1480) and the Virgin of the Rose Bush (1473). The altarpiece depicting Saint Catherine and Saint Lawrence (c. 1510) and sculptures from the Late Middle Ages rounded out the presentation.[9]
Recent restoration
In mid-2022, the altarpiece was re-shown at the Unterlinden Museum after it underwent cleaning and restoration by a team of restorers led by Anthony Pontabry. Haguenau's sculptures were restored in the
Gallery
-
Isenheim Altarpiece: The Resurrection
References
- ^ "The Isenheim altarpiece". Musée Unterlinden. Archived from the original on 27 July 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- PMID 30725027.
- ^ Hillerbrand, Hans J.; Stefon, Matt (August 26, 2016). "Christology. Jesus in the visual arts. Painting and sculpture. The Middle Ages through the 19th century". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ John 3:30
- ^ JSTOR 1360358.
- ISBN 978-0-300-04145-3.[page needed]
- ^ McCouat, Philip. "The Isenheim Altarpiece Pt 2: Nationalism, Nazism and Degeneracy".
- ^ Stephanie Barron, "1937: Modern Art and Politics in Prewar Germany", in Degenerate Art: The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Nazi Germany, Harry A Abrams/Los Angeles County Museum of Art, New York, 1991[page needed]
- ^ "Musée Unterlinden | the Isenheim altarpiece". Archived from the original on 2014-11-10. Retrieved 2012-09-26.[full citation needed]
- Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art, July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2023
Further reading
- Bryda, Gregory (June 2018). "The Exuding Wood of the Cross at Isenheim." The Art Bulletin 100.2: 6–36. DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.2018.1393323
- Snyder, James (1985). Northern Renaissance Art. Painting, Sculpture, and the Graphic Arts from 1350 to 1575. New York City: ISBN 0-8109-1081-0.
- Ruck, Carl A.P.; Staples, Blaise Daniel; Heinrich, Clark (2001). The Apples of Apollo, Pagan and Christian Mysteries of the Eucharist. Durham, N.C: Carolina Academic Press. ISBN 0-89089-924-X.
- Hayum, Andrée (December 1977). "The Meaning and Function of the Isenheim Altarpiece: The Hospital Context Revisited". JSTOR 3049705.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Article in the Smithsonian Magazine
- Two appreciations by Joris Carl Huysmans
- "Encounter with Grunewald," in Currents in Theology and Mission, Feb, 2004, by Roy A. Harrisville – Useful summary of the history of the reception of the painting