06 ’Schöne Madonna‘

The Presentation in the Temple To commemorate their liberation from slavery in Egypt (2nd Book of Moses,13:2–15) it was a Jewish custom to present the first-born son to the priest in the temple and to release him from temple service by making a sacrificial gift (five Shekel). On the day Mary and Joseph went to the temple, Simeon was also there. It had been prophesied to him that he would not die until he had seen the Saviour. He lifted up the boy, in whom he recognised the new Messiah, saying: “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word. For mine eyes have seen the salvation which thou hast prepared before all nations, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and glory to thy people Israel.” The prophetess Hannah, an aged woman of eighty-four, also recognised the Son of God and told all those who had been waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Joseph is holding a basket containing two doves for the prescribed purification offering that the mother of a newborn baby had to make at the temple. According to Moses this did not happen until 40 days after the birth, i.e. ten days after the Presentation (3rd Book of Moses 12). According to the Gospel of Saint Luke, the sacrifice is performed at the same time as the Presentation, as shown here. “They also wished to offer their sacrifice according to the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24).

The carved reliefs and the panels are works of exceptionally high quality. The Frankfurt art historian Michaela Schedl believes that, since they have remained unknown to scholarly research until now, the unknown master has not yet been given a provisional name for this reason. According to what is known to date, it can be assumed that the artist came from the Innviertel region.4 This attribution to a workshop from Passau within the historically larger Innviertel is based on stylistic similarities. A panel painting in the Diözesanmuseum Passau with a Mary from an ‘Annunciation’ and an ‘Adoration of the Magi’ verso5 can be used as a comparison. The youthful-looking Mary and the modelling of the firm facial features of the Three Kings, especially the bearded king kneeling before the child, and an ‘Adoration of the Magi’ in Maria Laach am Jauerling6 show compositionally striking similarities. The reliefs, however, cannot be traced back to the same carver. There are, however, motivic parallels. This type of image was very popular in the art of the Passau region around 1480–90.7

It is equally difficult to determine the church, monastery or convent for which the works were created. It is assumed that the nun is an abbess from an Augustinian convent. In order to explain the monk as the donor, only joint foundations probably come into consideration. This would include Klosterneuburg where a convent for the Canonesses of Saint Augustine also existed until 1722. Another hypothesis is that the donor was a relative of the abbess who had bequeathed his property, a fortified estate, to the convent. Equally well the priest may have been in charge of a congregation that was overseen by the monastery.

As both donors are lacking banners and possible coats of arms that would have helped to identify them, it is not possible to establish the monastery for which the panels were intended.

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4 Written appraisal by Dr. Michaela Schedl, 2021 in which she cites Dr. Lothar Schultes who refers to the ‘Adoration of the Magi’ in Maria Laach am Jauerling and the works in the Diözesanmuseum Passau (inv. no. D 381) in his research. From a stylistical point of view he considers it plausible that the wings of the altarpiece are from a workshop in Passau.

5 Diözesanmuseum Passau, inv. no. D 381, illustrated in: Brunner, Alois/Brunner Max, op. cit., cat. no. 4/14 a+b 6 Krone-Balcke, op. cit., p. 138, ill. no. 95 7 Ibid., p. 142

Christ Crucified Tilman Riemenschneider

(ATTRIBUTED TO)

CHRIST CRUCIFIED

TILMAN RIEMENSCHNEIDER attributed to

Heiligenstadt 1460–1531 Würzburg

Early 16th century

Provenance: Collection of Professor Wilhelm von Miller (Munich 1848–1899); Acquired in 1907 by Julius Böhler from von Miller’s estate; Thence by descent.

Related Literature: Soder von Güldenstubbe, Erik and Widlich, Ariane. Tilman Riemenschneider und sein Erbe im Taubertal, Gerchsheim 2004, pp. 67 ff.

Chapuis, Julien. Tilman Riemenschneider, Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages, exh. cat., New Haven 1999, pp. 290 ff. The artist depicts Christ Crucified as a young man immediately after the throes of death on the cross. His head with the Crown of Thorns hangs heavily on his right shoulder. Clotted strands of hair frame his bearded face. His mouth is slightly open; his tongue pressing outwards – an indication that he has just died. Christ is nailed to the cross in three places – through both of his hands and through his feet that are arranged one over the other. The muscular, slim and seemingly elegant body is captured with considerable anatomical accuracy. The loincloth, tied around Christ’s hips, winds around the sides in artistic, almost Mannerist-like loops.

As the figure is relatively small, it was made for private devotional use and would have been placed on a house altar.

The figure is attributed to Tilman Riemenschneider. Stylistically, it is similar to a depiction of Christ in the crucifixion group in the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt (fig. 1) – made in Riemenschneider’s own hand and workshop.

Christ’s face, the Crown of Thorns, his body and the loincloth are modelled in the same way on this work, as are the lance wound and the inserted nipples. On comparison, the face and hair of our figure of Christ are arguably slightly less finely carved.

Fig. 1. Crucifixion group, Tilman Riemenschneider and workshop, circa 1500, lindenwood, Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt

“Riemenschneider, one of the most important artists during the transition period from late Gothic to the Renaissance, created works largely of religious subjects.”

His customers included the Church and wealthy citizens. His first, prominent commissions that could be seen by the general public, primarily altarpieces and crucifixion groups, founded his artistic reputation and helped him establish a flourishing workshop in Würzburg.

Two Wings of a Small Altarpiece with Scenes of the Life of Christ

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