The wise and foolish virgins (Magdeburg Cathedral)

Three of the five wise virgins

Three of the five foolish virgins

The wise and foolish virgins are a group of sculptures at the paradise portal of Magdeburg Cathedral , which depicts the parable of the same name . It is dated to the middle of the 13th century, the sculptor remains anonymous. The ten figures are made of sandstone and are almost life-size with a height of 120-130 cm.

description

K - clever / T - foolish

K5

T5

Frontal view Back then a life-size figure, approx. 125 cm high Attribute of the wise virgin in the right hand: lampshell with a small, licking flame She wears a pleated tassel coat over the long, tightly belted dress. The dress falls straight down in vertical parallel folds Below the pleated dress you can catch a glimpse of the virgin's toes Both sides of the coat are pushed back with the elbows, many tension and sliding folds can be seen in detail Your shoulders are only partially covered by the coat The folds of the coat continued on the back The wafer-thin, tight-fitting fabric suggests the breasts of a young girl The robe not only covers, but shows the body shape of the figure In relation to long, strong legs, the upper body appears rather small and short. The only hair ornament is a hoop set with flowers. She has long wavy hair that falls over her shoulder. She smiles, and small dimples form on the virgin's face She stands in isolation within her row and does not make contact with the other wise virgins, but looks over to the row of foolish virgins On the back, from the neck to the floor, there are wide grooves in which there are dowel holes, pitch and traces of glue It stands on a polygonal console that is smaller than the footprint of the statue

Lowered empty lamp in the right hand (attribute of the Foolish Virgin), approx. 125 cm high Sobbing, she turns to her fellow sufferers Her left hand rests on her chest She also wears a coat over her dress The decorative elements are economical and simple, like the headband Long wavy hair like K5 can be seen under the browband Stand motif like K5 The abdomen with broad hips arches forward, the slender upper body recoils and the head leans forward With her right hand she grips the lowered lamp with the fabric of the jacket The figure shows sorrow, eyes are slit-like, lips are pressed together

K4

T4

Standing in front of him, the figure turns his head far to the right in order to present the other clever virgins with the burning lamp - approx. 123 cm high She wears a filigree diadem under curls You can see a smile on her face Your eyeball and iris are worked down to the last detail

It shows the foolish virgin her pain; approx. 128 cm high The left hand rests on her forehead The right hand with the empty lamp sinks Her face is hardly recognizable The lower eyelids droop, the mouth is contorted with bulging lips and the chin is marked with deep wrinkles The left side of the coat falls straight down on both sides, clamped by the raised arm The right side of the coat slides unhindered down from the shoulder, with the long track diagonally crossing the lower body With the falling lamp she tries to push the coat aside The right foot is on the hem of the coat The raised arm forms a parallel to the diagonal of the mantle, the just lowered right arm corresponds to the vertical mantle path on the left

K3	T3
Centered in their row you can see them frontal to the viewer; approx. 130 cm high As the greatest virgin she looks at the viewer The left hand rests on the straps of the coat, the right presents the lamp She shifts her weight onto her left leg, while her right leg is set back to the side She smiles and dimples appear Her face is fuller and she has a strong chin area	Left hand lies flat on her cheek, supporting her bowed head The left standing leg in front of the shoe can be seen on the toes of the shoe, on the right of the robe the knee can be seen from the slightly recessed free leg; approx. 126 cm high

K2

T2

The frontal standing figure holds the lampshell forward, which is covered with the jacket material from below; approx. 125 cm high The left hand pulls on the coat strap Heightened facial expressions (laughter), mouth slightly open, eyeballs can hardly be seen Robe, jewelry and amount of fabric are increasing, z. B. The dress billows over the belt or the browband is decorated with diamond ribbons and attachments It stands on the original leaf console from the 13th century.

This figure turns to her neighbor T1, who turns back as she leaves; approx. 122 cm high T1 and T2 form a unit With the left hand the figure pulls up the tip of a coat to dry the tears The design of the face is very similar to that of T4 The empty lamp is held upright It stands on the original sheet console

K1

T1

As the outermost figure, the virgin turns her upper body inwards towards her group; approx. 128 cm high Your only contact is made through figure K4, who looks over at her Her left hand pulls on the coat strap, the right one presents the lamp Both sides of the coat are pushed back through the elbows The right side of the coat falls straight down, the left runs diagonally to the right foot, triggered by a turning movement and standing on the tip of the coat, similar to T4 Decorative elements are designed more elaborately, the headband is covered with leaf fans Their facial expressions are similar to the figure K2 The design of the lips are kept narrower and the folds of the corners of the mouth are much tighter

The figure forms the outer end of the series of foolish virgins; approx. 126 cm high She turns away from the viewer Only contact with her neighbor She tries to cover her face with the coat Although her body is shown frontally, her upper body rotates, which lifts her coat Long, elegant fingers stand out thanks to their silk-thin fabric Your right hand grasps the lampshell with the jacket material

The facial features and curly hair of the virgins resemble each other. Getting in touch with other characters is also important. The inside of the robes was given color. The wise virgins painted red and the foolish virgins painted blue. The clear order of the clothes folds is just as striking. The jewelry design of the wise virgins increases from the inside out.

The foolish virgins gradually seem to raise their hands higher: starting with the left hand with the flat laying on the chest (T5) through supporting the head (T4, T3) to the drying of the tears with the raised cloak tip (T1, T2 ). In the right hand, the apparent movement starts with holding the lamp lowered (T5), tilting it slightly (T3) and finally even holding the empty lamp upright (T1). No flame burns in the bowls of the foolish.

iconography

Reception of the parable

The parable was heavily allegorized by the Church Fathers , although the interpretations were very different. Here are some that Thomas Aquinas collected in his Catena aurea :

• Jerome indicates that some literally interpret the young women as virgins , with some being virgins both physically and mentally, while others are only physically and mentally married. He himself relates the parable to all of humanity.
• Augustine of Hippo relates the ten virgins to the five senses , which can be used foolishly and wisely.
• Hilary of Poitiers interprets the lamps as the light of the bright souls that shine in the sacrament of baptism.
• For Hilarius the oil means good works, for Chrysostom charity, alms and every help given to those in need, for Origen the word of doctrine with which the vessels of the soul are filled.

In the Middle Ages, virgins served as a memorial to the omnipresent death. The wise virgins had enough oil in their lamps to keep them burning, while the foolish ones had empty oil lamps and were thus rejected. People who do not act like the wise virgins go to hell or are damned.

The virgins were often placed on church portals in the 13th and 14th centuries. B. in Magdeburg, in Freiburg and in Erfurt. Here, too, the difference between the wise, blissful and the grieving, almost desperate, foolish virgins was particularly emphasized.

The parable was one of the most popular parables in the Middle Ages. According to the interpretation of the Glossa ordinaria , the wise virgins who have supplied themselves with oil for their oil lamps in good time symbolize the Christian soul, which virtuously turns to God in five ways; the foolish virgins who have oil lamps but no oil symbolize five types of carnal lust and damnation.

The art movement of the Nazarenes around Friedrich Overbeck took up Christian themes again in the 19th century, so that the parable of the virgins was again increasingly the subject of representation in art.

Nowadays the parable is often read in the Catholic Church in the Holy Mass on the feast day of holy virgins, such as St. Cecilia . In the reading order of the regular form, it also belongs to the 32nd (penultimate) Sunday in the annual cycle of reading year A. In the Lutheran reading order, it is read as the Sunday Gospel on the last Sunday of the church year (eternity Sunday).

Clothing and jewelry

The sculptures can be assigned and differentiated through their jewelry. The foolish virgins are rather simply endowed, their only ornament is the crown. The wise virgins, on the other hand, are made more splendid with chains, belts, buttons and collars, which also characterizes their social position.

In the 13th century, a new dress code developed because the nobility wanted to distance themselves from the bourgeoisie, which could increasingly afford luxurious clothing. The dress code was also intended to serve the maintenance of the urban common good, which was seen to be disrupted by excessive clothing. The church refused to participate in the secular clothing behavior and therefore prohibited its nuns and priests from wearing secular clothing. Clerics should show modesty and humility, which was conveyed to the churchgoer with the simple pleated robes of the virgins.

Comparisons and role models

The depiction of the Magdeburg virgins was influenced, among other things, by the pair of figures of the Ecclesia and the synagogue , which stand at the front of the double portal of the Strasbourg cathedral . These two statues symbolically represent Christianity and Judaism and embody the completion of the Christian message on Judgment Day . The synagogue is considered a cast out bride, while Ecclesia is considered the new bride of Christ because she uses a chalice to catch the blood of the wounded Christ. The rule of the old covenant ends with the crucifixion of Christ. The Ecclesia is inclined towards the synagogue. The synagogue, on the other hand, did not recognize the true Messiah. To illustrate her defeat, she is shown blindfolded and turned away. Her simple headdress, the crown, falls down, the arum is torn and the tables of the seat slip out of her hand. In contrast to Ecclesia, she wears rather simple jewelry. Ecclesia is associated with the happy, triumphant and magnificently decorated 'wise virgins', the synagogue with the grieving, lamenting 'foolish virgins'. The characters of the wise and the foolish virgins symbolize Ecclesia and the synagogue. The Strasbourg statues stand on capital consoles, the ten virgins in Magdeburg Cathedral on leaf consoles. Numerous branches grow on the leaf consoles. Mugwort is used for the wise virgins, and oak leaves for the foolish . Column figures on leaf consoles can also be found at the Adam portal of Bamberg Cathedral , with the leaf consoles of the ten virgins very similar to the papal grave in Bamberg's west choir.

Restoration history and condition

In the past 750 years, the sculptures have probably only been revised twice. The lowest layers of paint can be traced back to the 13th century, i.e. the time the sculptures were made. The second painting was made between the 14th and 18th centuries. All sculptures have a white lead primer. The original appearance gave the viewer at the time the feeling of splendor, the finest colors and richness, whereby there were no differences in the color scheme between the foolish and wise virgins. However, the wise virgins were endowed with richer decorative elements. All of the sculptures had red cheeks and bright yellow to brown hair. Decorative elements such as belts or hairbands were gold-plated and decorated with red, green and black contour lines . Coats and dresses were gilded. The non-gilded areas of the garment have strong colors such as copper green , lead white, malachite , vermilion and copper blue, with the coats often having a contrasting lining. Shapes such as circles, squares and rosettes decorate the outside of the coats. These variations of the ornament should be an imitation of contemporary silk fabrics. The garment parts of the individual sculptures have strong color contrasts, e.g. B. gold or blue dresses and red and green coats.

Due to the unfavorable location in Magdeburg Cathedral, the virgins have lost a large part of their splendid color scheme. The climatic conditions, which are similar to an outdoor space, caused the sculptures to weather badly. Therefore, after the recent restoration work (2008) has been completed, the figures are to be better placed in the foyer of the cathedral in terms of air conditioning.

In order to be able to analyze the original arrangement of the figures precisely, scientific research has shown that on the back of the ten virgins on their vertical throats, dowels and traces of adhesive were found. This indicates that they were originally intended for the portal. The leaf consoles of the figures also match the figures.

The ten virgins are indicated as columnar figures, as they have no standing surface. Originally, the figures should have been intended for the column portal. This is also supported by the fact that the original order of the figures remained the same and was not changed. There is a constant flow of movement of the figures from the inside to the outside, visible with the help of facial expressions, gestures, drapery and jewelry design. Each individual figure represents stages of emotional excitement. The column portal was reconstructed and gradually converted into a figure portal. The oldest column portal that existed with statues dates from around 1240/1250 on the transept of Magdeburg Cathedral. The figures were later placed in the paradise portal in the north transept of Magdeburg Cathedral.

literature

• Heiko Brandl: The sculptures of the 13th century in the Magdeburg Cathedral. To the sculptures of the older and younger workshop. Halle 2009, ISBN 978-3-86568-533-9 .
• Max Hasse : The foolish and wise virgins. In: Lübecker Museumshefte , No. 3. Lübeck 1961, pp. 1–8ff.
• Michael Sussmann: The Cathedral of Magdeburg. Peda, 1997, ISBN 3-89643-056-4
• Thomas Groll and Claudia Böttcher: The restoration of the sculptures of the wise and foolish virgins at Magdeburg Cathedral In: Yearbook of the Dome and Palaces Foundation in Saxony-Anhalt 2006/2007. Vol. 5. Wettin, 2008.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ European clothing fashion (1450–1950). Article by Gabriele Mentges, February 2011.
2. ↑ Thomas Groll, Claudia Böttcher: The restoration of the sculptures of the wise and foolish virgins at Magdeburg Cathedral - selected aspects of their investigation and restoration in the years 1999-2008. (PDF; 2.1 MB) Article on Claudia Böttcher's website (accessed on November 12, 2017).

Web links

• The wise and the foolish virgins in Magdeburg. Article on the BrunnenTurmFigur.de websitewith photos (as of June 2013).
• Photos of the sculptures on SmugMug (accessed June 26, 2013).