Heller altar
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| Heller Altar (reconstruction) |
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| , 1507–11 (Dürer and Grünewald) around 1614–17 (Harrich) |
| Tempera on fir wood (Dürer and Grünewald) / Tempera on linden wood (Harrich) |
| 190 × 260 cm |
The Heller Altar was a triptych painted by Albrecht Dürer and Matthias Grünewald . The altar was built between 1507 and 1511 on behalf of the patrician Jakob Heller for the Dominican Church in Frankfurt am Main . The main part is only preserved as a 17th century copy from Jobst Harrich . The altar panels are now spread across several museums in Frankfurt and Karlsruhe.
Origin and history of the object
Since the end of the 15th and first quarter of the 16th century, the Dominican monastery in Frankfurt am Main received extensive, contemporary refurbishments from the best artists of the time, including Hans Holbein the Elder. , the master of Frankfurt and Hans Baldung Grien . For the southern nave of the church, the Frankfurt councilor and businessman Jakob Heller commissioned a triptych for himself and his wife Katharina in 1507 .
He entrusted Albrecht Dürer, who worked in Nuremberg , with the central panel, the inner wings and the first left and right outer wings . Only four panels for the left and right second outer wing left Heller - although these, like the former in the particularly difficult grisaille technique should be carried out - the then probably in Aschaffenburg based Matthias Grünewald .
Dürer's workshop sent their share of the work to Frankfurt in August 1509, as a self-portrait of the master with an inscription plaque placed as a staffage figure. Matthias Grünewald's work, on the other hand, can only be narrowed down roughly to the period 1509–11, so that the altar could be assembled at its destination by 1511 at the latest.
When Duke Maximilian of Bavaria acquired Dürer's central panel for his art collection in 1614, a copy was made by the Nuremberg painter Jobst Harrich for the altar that remained in Frankfurt by 1617 at the latest . In retrospect, this turned out to be an extraordinary stroke of luck, as the original was lost about a century later in the fire of the Munich residence in 1724.
In the course of secularization , the art treasures of the Dominican monastery were scattered around the world, including the Heller Altar. In the meantime, however, the late medieval joint venture is largely back in Frankfurt. The Historical Museum is showing a reconstruction of the inside with a copy of Jobst Harrich in the center and the inside of the wings, which still came from Dürer's hand or workshop. Three of the four panels of the outer wing are also here, although not in the current permanent exhibition. A fourth panel, the upper part of the first left outer wing with an Adoration of the Magi , is considered lost.
In contrast, half of Grünewald's part of the altar - four saints - which is generally considered to be of far higher quality, is on permanent loan from the Historical Museum in the Städel , namely the male saints, the other half with the female saints in the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe .
Motif
Inside (holiday side) by Dürer
The Assumption and Coronation of Mary can be seen on the central panel . The coronation is performed by Jesus and God . A dove can be seen over the crown of Mary, symbolizing the Holy Spirit . The coronation act is surrounded by numerous putti making music . The scene is watched by the apostles . Almost in the center of the picture, but in the background, is the painter Albrecht Dürer, leaning slightly against a board with his signature and the year of completion.
On the left side, in the upper part, the martyrdom of James can be seen. In the lower part you can see the founder Jakob Heller with his coat of arms. The martyrdom of Catherine of Alexandria can be seen on the right wing . On the lower part you can see the wife of the founder: Katharina von Melem with her coat of arms. The names of the saints and those of the donor couple refer to each other.
The drawing known as praying hands can be found on the right edge of the central panel of the apostle (red coat). Also for other apostles and body parts, e.g. B. the soles of the feet of the front right apostle, preliminary drawings are known.
Jakob Heller drew up a comprehensive will in 1519, which enabled essential knowledge about his motives for the foundation. In addition, his correspondence with Albrecht Dürer has been preserved so that the origin of the retable can be explored in detail.
Left wing above, Martyrdom of St. James
Left wing below, the founder Jakob Heller with coat of arms
Right wing above, Martyrdom of St. Catherine
Right wing below, the founder Katharina Heller, b. from Melem with coat of arms
Outside (working day side) by Grünewald and Dürer
On the outside of Grünewald and Dürer, which consists of a total of eight panels, further scenes of saints are shown in grisaille . There are four pictures by Grünewald, two of which - Cyriacus and Laurentius - are in the Städel and two - Elisabeth of Thuringia and a martyr, possibly Lucia - are in the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe.
Pictures from Grünewald
St. Cyriacus heals the daughter of Diocletian from obsession, Mathias Grünewald
St. Elisabeth of Thuringia , Mathias Grünewald
St. Laurentius , Mathias Grünewald
St. Lucia (?) , Mathias Grünewald
Pictures by Dürer
Two saints are depicted in each of Dürer's pictures: Peter and Paul , Christophorus with Thomas Aquinas and two holy kings .
literature
- Christian Altgraf zu Salm : Grünewald's wing to the Heller Altar . In: Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst 2, 1951, pp. 118–123.
- Annette Pfaff: Studies on Albrecht Dürer's Heller Altar . Nuremberg workpieces on city and state history; Bd. 7 (Dissertation) Publisher: Nürnberg: Stadtarchiv Nürnberg: Korn u. Berg, (1971)
- Bernhard Decker: Dürer and Grünewald. The Frankfurt Heller Altar. Framework conditions for altar painting. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-596-11580-9 .
- Rainhard Riepertinger (Hrsg.): The riddle Grünewald. Catalog for the Bavarian State Exhibition 2002/03, Johannisburg Castle, Aschaffenburg, November 30, 2002 to February 28, 2003. Theiss, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8062-1715-7 , p.
- Jochen Sander and Johann Schulz: "If I want to do that, not much people can do it:" Dürer and the Heller Altar , in: Jochen Sander (ed.): Dürer. Art - Artist - Context , exhibition catalog Städel Museum 2013–2014, Prestel, Munich / London / New York 2013, ISBN 978-3-7913-5318-0 , pp. 219–233.
- Johann Schulz: Albrecht Dürer and the Heller Altar. A retable and its supraregional relations between Nuremberg and Cologne (Medieval retable in Hessen 1), Heidelberg 2013 ( digitized version ).
