Imad Madonna

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The Imad Madonna 1890

The Imad Madonna is an Ottonian sculpture, which is in the Diocesan Museum Paderborn . The large sculpture, created in the middle of the 11th century, is considered a major work of Ottonian art. Mary is depicted as the Mother of God in the form of an enthroned Madonna with the baby Jesus on her lap. The 112 centimeter tall sculpture made of limewood was originally colored and has now been restored and exhibited unpainted. There is a relic opening on the back of the figure , although it is unclear whether the Madonna was ever used as a relic container.

The figure

description

The almost life-size figure is carved from linden wood, in the back of the figure there is a reliquary deposit . The Paderborn Madonna is depicted in the Sedes sapientiae type , the enthroned Madonna. With her right hand she makes a blessing gesture while with her left hand she supports the baby Jesus on her lap. Turning his gaze in the direction of the seat, Christ performs this gesture of blessing with his right hand while he is holding a book-like object in his left arm. The three-dimensional structure of the Imad Madonna is reduced to simple, stylized basic forms, which are consciously reminiscent of an ancient language of form. The robe of Our Lady functions through its folds as an aesthetic structuring of the surface and underlines her posture. The Palla of the Paderborn Madonna leaves her ears uncovered and goes directly into her coat without any noticeable separation, which leads to the assumption that the textiles were differentiated by color in the original version. Like the body, the head of the Ottonian Imad Madonna is designed in a reduced formal language. The contours of the front and back of the head are parallel in their baselines, and by bringing the cheeks to the chin, an internal structure is formed around the mouth. This strongly developed face of the Imad Madonna is framed by her veil. The tip of the nose, feet and fingers of the figure of Mary are missing. The surface of the figure shows damage from anobia infestation and scorch marks. These traces of fire are also an important clue for dating, as the Paderborn Cathedral burned down in 1058.

History of origin

The Imad Madonna owes its creation to its founder and namesake, Bishop Imad from Paderborn, who commissioned it after he took office in 1051. In 1058 the statue of the Virgin was completed and painted, which was only found out during its thorough restoration between 1960 and 1970. The robe of Maria was primed white, whereupon the ornamentation and the folds were highlighted with red paint. The clothing of the Christ child was decorated in the same way, but with a blue primer. The throne bench was red, blue, green and yellow. Shortly after the completion of the enthroned Madonna, it was badly damaged in a cathedral fire in 1058 and then renovated by encasing it with a gold-plated copper sheet decorated with gems, pearls and precious stones.

In 1762 the metal cladding was removed to pay the war contribution at the end of the Seven Years' War . Perhaps already at this point in time, but in any case at least twice in the 19th century, the figure was given a new color version, parts of the wood substance were also renewed or covered with a putty. Today the figure is largely wood-sighted, only the book of the Christ Child still has a metal coating, and numerous nails with which the metal was attached have also been preserved.

The Imad Madonna, whose liturgical use is unknown, was thoroughly restored between 1968 and 1970. During this restoration, remnants of the original color scheme were also found: Mary originally wore white robes with ornaments and folds in red, Christ a blue tunic with red ornaments, folds and borders. Mary's throne was set in red, blue, green and yellow. The later color versions and additions were removed during this restoration.

In contrast to the Essen Golden Madonna and a large seated Madonna from Hildesheim dated around 1022, no gold was originally used in the Imad Madonna. The design of the form had replaced the sheen of the valuable material.

Art historical context

The large Ottonian sculpture

The group of large Ottonian sculptures includes the type of Madonna enthroned, the most important representatives of which can be found in Essen, Hildesheim, Paderborn and Frankfurt. The four Madonna sculptures differ significantly from one another except in their overall motif composition and each form their own style. However, the focus of the picture's message is controversial, either on the christological iconography of Mary as the bearer of God. or based on pure mariological worship. The development of the enthroned Madonna from a permanently installed sculpture to a mobile sculpture was determined by architectural specifications and the choice of materials. Before the 13th century, stone sculptures were mainly made, which were generally tied to the cathedral builders' huts. In the middle of the 13th century, however, a practice of unbound wood carvings developed, which made the enthroned Madonna into an independent and above all movable work of art.

The type of the enthroned Madonna: Sedes sapientiae

In addition to the crucifixes, the Sedes sapientiae type , the enthroned Madonna, is another group of large Ottonian sculptures. The veneration of Our Lady goes back to the 5th century and concerned her position as the throne of wisdom and ruler, mother and personification of the church, in order to counteract the doubts about her divine motherhood. The type of the enthroned Madonna with the Christ child seated in front is a very established form of representation in the Middle Ages, the beginning of which is marked by the Golden Madonna from Hildesheim. The Paderborn Madonna, on the other hand, was conceived as an independent concept in which elements of the Hildesheim and Essen Madonna were adapted. In addition to the Mainz and Frankfurt Madonna, the Paderborn Mother of God also represents the schematic dissolution of the antique sitting posture, although here the late antiquity was not continued, only motifs were processed. The naming of the enthroned Mary as Sedes sapientiae feigns a certainty that is not given: Always in relation to her actual iconography, the figure of the Madonna develops from an altarpiece with the three holy kings to an independent theologically and hieratically enhanced representation and pictorial form . The special naming of the figure of Mary draws attention to a particular aspect or role of Mary in the liturgy. The enthroned Madonna can initially be seen as an analogy of the enthroned Christ and from the end of the 14th century as an established correspondence in church furnishings to the Crucifixus. Thus, through her liturgical dual character as Mother of God and Christ, the Madonna was flesh herself, not only an image of saints, but also an image of God and its great response towards the end of the 11th century can probably be traced back to the investiture controversy, in which the Church through propaganda as Mary Proclaimed the epitome of the church image and promoted the cult of Mary.

Liturgical use

The Ottonian Madonna figures were used in the liturgy in processions: as the enthroned Madonna, they were laid out as a mobile cult image and thus found great importance in the parish. Its use as a reliquary was of secondary importance and it was also denied a permanent exhibition space in the church. Opinions on the origin of monumental sculptures in the church are still divided: Harald Keller's thesis states that the sculpture was only used as a reliquary shrine in connection with the cult of relics. However, it has not yet been proven whether sculptures in human form only survived through their function as reliquary. When criticizing the cult image in the sense of a suspicion of idolatry, however, a distinction must be made between image and relic, since the latter is hierarchically inferior to the liturgy in the Christian church. According to Büchsel, the Imad Madonna can definitely not be regarded as a cult image, as this requires a personal match between relic and image, but no relic was kept in it. In the medieval definition of the image of the enthroned Madonna and the heated discussion about her, it is actually a question of the perspective of viewing. One must direct the development and theological questions to Mariology and place them in the context of Christology in order to decipher the Ottonian type of Mary enthroned.

Effect and influence on the following representation of the Madonna

In the second half of the 14th century, the development of the representation of the Madonna towards a Gothic formal language progressed and other independent types emerged, such as the protective mantle Madonna or Pietà, which in turn emphasize the special roles of Mary. Above all, the genus of the Beautiful Madonnas is considered to be one of the most important groups, which moves away from the reliquary controversy and has its cultic content not through material evidence, but solely through aesthetic and idealized representation, and thus experiences a cultic exaggeration of its pictorial work.

Web link

About the location of the Imad Madonna: http://dioezesanmuseum-paderborn.de/das-museum/zur-architektur-des-diozesanmuseums/ , with photo, accessed on November 15, 2017.

literature

  • Martin Büchsel : Ottonian Madonna . Liebieghaus Volume 15, Frankfurt a. M. 1993.
  • Klaus Gereon Beuckers (Hrsg.): The Ottonen. Art, architecture, history . Imhof, Petersberg 2002, ISBN 3-932526-91-0 , p. ???.
  • Klaus Endemann: The cult image of the bishop - for the Imad Madonna of Paderborn Cathedral. In: Westphalia. Hefte für Geschichte, Kunst und Volkskunde 87, 2009, pp. 121–148.
  • Manuela Beer: Ottonian and early Salian monumental sculpture. Development, form and function of wood sculptures of the 10th and early 11th centuries. In: Klaus Gereon Beuckers, Johannes Cramer, Michael Imhof (eds.): Die Ottonen. Art - architecture - history . Imhof, Petersberg 2002, ISBN 3-93-252691-0 , pp. 129-152.
  • Hilde Claussen: The Imad Madonna of the Paderborn Cathedral In: Guide to prehistoric and early historical monuments, Paderborn plateau, Paderborn, Büren, Salzkotten , Volume 20, Mainz am Rhein 1971, p. 176 ff.
  • Hilde Claussen, Klaus Endemann: To the restoration of the Paderborn Imad Madonna . In: Westphalia. Hefte für Geschichte, Kunst und Volkskunde 48, 1970, pp. 79–125. Reprinted again in: Leonhard Küppers (Ed.): The Mother of God. Marienbild in Rhineland and Westphalia, Volume 1, Recklinghausen 1974, pp. 51-84.
  • Uwe Geese: Medieval sculpture in Germany, Austria and Switzerland . Imhof, Petersberg 2007. ISBN 978-3-86568-153-9 , pp. ???.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Klaus Gereon Beuckers: The Ottonen. Art, architecture, history. 2002, p. 140.
  2. ↑ Martin Büchsel: Ottonian Madonna. 1993, pp. 25-29.
  3. ↑ Martin Büchsel: Ottonian Madonna. 1993, pp. 33-38.
  4. ↑ Klaus Gereon Beuckers: The Ottonen. Art, architecture, history. 2002, p. 149 ff.
  5. ↑ Klaus Gereon Beuckers: The Ottonen. Art, architecture, history. 2002, p. 150.
  6. ↑ Martin Büchsel: Ottonian Madonna . 1993, p. 51 ff.
  7. ↑ Uwe Geese: Medieval sculpture in Germany, Austria and Switzerland . Imhofverlag Petersberg, 2007, p. 110.
  8. ↑ Klaus Gereon Beuckers: The Ottonen. Art, architecture, history. 2002, p. 146.
  9. ↑ Martin Büchsel: Ottonian Madonna . 1993, pp. 30-31.
  10. ↑ Martin Büchsel: Ottonian Madonna . 1993, pp. 58-59.
  11. ↑ Martin Büchsel: Ottonian Madonna . 1993, pp. 45-52.
  12. ↑ Uwe Geese: Medieval sculpture in Germany, Austria and Switzerland . Imhof, Petersberg, 2007, pp. 112-118.

Coordinates: 51 ° 43 ′ 6.5 ″  N , 8 ° 45 ′ 18.5 ″  E