St. John's Altar
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| St. John's Altar |
|---|
| Rogier van der Weyden , around 1455 |
| Tempera and oil on oak |
| 79 × 147 cm |
| Gemäldegalerie , Berlin |
The Johannes altar , also known as Johannestafel or Johannesretabel , is a small triptych by the Dutch painter Rogier van der Weyden . The triptych was created around 1455. The picture is in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin . A reduced copy from the hand of an unknown Dutch master is in the Städel in Frankfurt am Main .
Emergence
The triptych is similar in its execution to the Miraflores altar made about ten years earlier and probably refers to it. Rogier created both works for a Spanish client. The Miraflores altar for King John II of Castile. The client for the Johannes altar must have known the Miraflores altar. Both works differ from other Rogier's triptychs in that the individual panels are the same size. The relatively small size of the panels speaks against their use as an altarpiece. Since the backs are finely worked, the art historian Felix Thürlemann assumes that the panels were originally connected with hinges so that the triptych could be folded up and transported in a case.
description
The individual panels are each 79 × 49 cm in size. The pictures are painted in a mixed technique on oak wood.
The triptych is one of Rogier's so-called "portal altars". Three biblical episodes each are framed by late medieval church portals painted in grisaille . In their archivolts, stone figures can be seen that are related to the content of the depicted scene or that interpret the scenes. In contrast to the Miraflores altar, the arched openings on the Johannes altar are somewhat in the background, creating a kind of classic proscenium on which the figures can move freely.
Picture theme
The triptych depicts three important stages in the life of John the Baptist : His birth, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan and finally his beheading by an executioner, caused by Salome , the daughter of Herodias . The “direction of reading” from left to right is the main character's arc of life. There are two levels of reality, the portal frame made of simulated stone and the realistic scene from the life of the saint.
The birth of the Baptist
On the left panel the moment is recorded when Zacharias , John's father, writes down the name of his son. John is held by Mary . In the background you can see his mother Elisabeth in childbed . On this panel and on the right, the background consists of an enfilade of rooms.
The baptism of Jesus
The middle panel depicts the scene in which John baptizes Jesus on the Jordan River . A kneeling angel holds the clothes of Jesus. The blue sky is torn open over the baptism scene, and God the Father appears in a fiery halo . On a banner are the words, “This is my beloved son whom I have taken pleasure in; you shall listen to him ”( Matthew 17 : 5) to be read in Latin . The dove of the Holy Spirit hovers over the head of Jesus . Christ occupies the central axis and forms a representation of the Trinity with the figure of God in the cloud and the dove of the Holy Spirit .
The beheading
On the right panel you can see how the executioner lays his head on a bowl that is being held by Salome . While on the left panel Maria holds Johannes as an infant, on this panel Salome holds the chopped off head of the Baptist standing in the same place. This and also the way in which the secondary characters in the foreground react to the main character is shown in the opposite way. On the left panel both look at John, on the right panel both turn away from him. The further course of the story can be seen in the background. Salome presents the head to her mother Herodias , who stabs it in his cheek with a knife. The bare thighs and the colors of his pants are a symbol of the hangman's dishonor. The scene is watched by the Baptist's disciples and the courtiers in the hallway. The viewer is free to choose whether to identify with the grieving disciples or the bored courtiers.
literature
- Robert Suckale : Rogier van der Weyden, Die Johannestafel: the image as a silent sermon . Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1995, ISBN 3-596-11990-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Felix Thürlemann: Rogier van der Weyden: Life and Work . In: Beck's series: Knowledge . No. 2502 . CH Beck, 2006, ISBN 3-406-53592-5 , pp. 83-93 ( online - excerpt).
- ↑ SMB-digital Gemäldegalerie of the National Museums in Berlin, online database of the collections. Retrieved August 7, 2017.