The wise and foolish virgins (Magdeburg Cathedral)
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 |
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K4 | T4 |
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K3 | T3 |
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K2 | T2 |
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K1 | T1 |
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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
- ↑ European clothing fashion (1450–1950). Article by Gabriele Mentges, February 2011.
- ↑ 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).