What does the Isenheim altarpiece depict?
The closed exterior of Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece depicts the Crucifixion in the central panel. St. Anthony is pictured on one wing, St. Sebastian on the other.
Is the Isenheim altarpiece a polyptych?
This polyptych, which decorated the high altar of the monastery hospital’s chapel until the French Revolution, was commissioned by Guy Guers, who served as the institution’s preceptor from 1490 to 1516.
How does the Isenheim altarpiece open?
Inner wings opened: With its inner wings open, the altarpiece allowed pilgrims and the afflicted to venerate Saint Anthony, protector and healer of Saint Anthony’s fire. Saint Anthony occupies the place of honour at the centre of the corpus and at his side a pig is depicted, the emblem of the Antonite order.
Where was the Isenheim altarpiece originally displayed?
The Isenheim altarpiece was removed from the monastery, along with many other treasures, with the outbreak of Revolution in 1792. It was removed to a local branch of the French national library to preserve it from lawless looters. Today the altarpiece is displayed at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar.
Who was the patron of the Isenheim Altarpiece?
The Commission The set of panel paintings known as The Isenheim Altarpiece was commissioned by the preceptor Guido Guersi for the main altar of the Antonite Monastery near Colmar.
What is Isenheim altarpiece made of?
The Isenheim Altarpiece has a fairly complex construction. It is an old sculpted altar, made by Niklaus Hagenauer (1445-1538) and consisting of three carved wood statues of saints, to which six wings (painted by Grunewald) have been attached – three on each side.
What is being depicted in the Mérode Altarpiece?
Taking its name from the aristocratic Merode family of Belgium who owned it during the nineteenth century, this masterpiece of Christian art from the early Northern Renaissance consists of three panel paintings, and depicts the moment when the archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she has been chosen by …
What is significant about the Merode Altarpiece?
The Merode Altarpiece remains one of Campin’s best-known religious paintings, and is ranked amongst the greatest Renaissance paintings of Northern Europe. Netherlandish painting in the early 15th century represented a radical break from the courtly International Gothic style, and introduced a far more realist approach.
What is the meaning of Lady and the Unicorn tapestry?
We can assume the lady of the tapestries is a virgin through her ability to tame the unicorn. It’s also signified through her unbound hair as married French women worn their hair up. The unicorn as a subject of the tapestries illustrates a sense of goodness and virtue in the action taking place.
What is a unicorn symbol of?
With its white horse-like body and single spiralling horn, the unicorn is a symbol of purity, innocence and power in Celtic mythology. Legend also tells that their horns can purify poisoned water, such is the strength of their healing power.
What is Joseph making in Mérode Altarpiece?
In the right-hand panel, Saint Joseph, a carpenter, has constructed a mouse trap symbolizing Christ’s trapping and defeat of the devil, a metaphor used three times by Saint Augustine: “The cross of the Lord was the devil’s mousetrap; the bait by which he was caught was the Lord’s death.”