Malmkroger Altar

View into the choir room with the altar

The Malmkrog Altar is a late Gothic winged altar in the fortified church of Malmkrog (Romanian Mălâncrav) in the Sibiu district in Romania . Before the Reformation, the Malmkrog Church was one of the few pilgrimage churches in Transylvania . The altar, which was built before 1469, with its magnificent depiction of the Madonna on the central panel and other scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary, is the only altar in Transylvania preserved unchanged in its pre-Reformation state.

history

Coat of arms of the Apafi family

Historically, Malmkrog belonged to the Oberweißburg county , and thus one of the few Transylvanian-Saxon villages that were under a noble landlord, the Hungarian family Apafi. The last two Transylvanian princes Michael I and Michael II Apafi came from this noble family . Malmkrog did not belong to the area of the so-called Königsboden , whose inhabitants had already received special rights and freedom privileges in the Golden Charter in 1224 . The provisions of the Augsburg Peace of 1555 applied to the county , which among other things meant that the landlord was responsible for determining the denomination of his subjects, some of whom were still serfs. It is thanks to this circumstance that the rich fresco decorations of the church and probably also the pre-Reformation condition of the winged altar have been preserved intact. The coat of arms of the Apafi family, helmet, sword and shield with sunbeams in front of a vine with grapes, is preserved on the altar predella. A Klára Apafi is documented when the altar was probably built. On September 7, 1469 she is referred to as Mihály Apafi's widow. Since both appear as donors on the altarpiece, the foundation of the altar is dated before 1469.

construction

The middle panel of the reredos measures 214 x 140 cm (height x width), the painting panels to the side of the center panel each measure 98 x 43 cm (height x width; painting area 88 x 30 cm) with frame. The panels of the movable altar wings each measure 98 x 113.5 cm (painting area 88 x 100 cm). The predella is 57 cm high and 319 cm wide at the top and 237 cm wide at its base.

Painting panels

Winged altar of Malmkrog Church (before 1469)

The painting panel in the center of the altar shows a Madonna enthroned , accompanied by angels making music. The founders Mihály († 1469) and Klára Apafi kneel at their feet, identified by their namesake, Archangel Michael and St. Clara of Assisi . The central panel is flanked by narrow panels of paintings with the four saints Katharina, Barbara, Agnes and Margarethe, the “ virgines capitales ” in the tradition of the four altar paintings. The depictions on the inside and outside show scenes from the life of Mary and the childhood of Jesus, but not in chronological order: the outside of the altar wings show the Annunciation, the Visitation of Mary (visible when closed), as well as Jesus' circumcision and the offering in the temple; the feast day side shows the birth of Jesus, the adoration of the kings, the Assumption of Mary and the death of Mary. Further panels on the weekday page show the Archangel Michael and St. George. The two knightly saints give the impression of so-called "shrine guardians". Such guardian figures can be found, for example, in the Sterzinger Altar (after 1456) by Hans Multscher or in the altar by St. Wolfgang (1471–1479) in Upper Austria. In the will of Nicolaus Apafi from 1447, he had decreed that his grandson Michael should receive military training. In addition to these military connotations, the painting panels on the altar have an elegant, “courtly” style, recognizable by the pressed brocade applications of the Madonna's dress and the vestments of some figures on the outside of the altar wings. Press brocade appears very rarely in the surviving Transylvanian altars, and then only on altars from the 15th century.

Painting panels on the holiday side
Altar wing	Intermediate panel	Central panel	Intermediate panel	Altar wing
Birth of Christ	Catherine	Madonna enthroned	Agnes	Mary's death
Adoration of the Magi	Barbara	Madonna enthroned	Margareta	Virgin Mary's soul removal

Painting panels on the weekday page
Fixed table	Altar wing	Altar wing	Fixed table
Michael	Annunciation	visitation	George
	clipping	Offering in the temple

The arrangement of the picture panels follows a diagonal composition, as it is typical for the 1430s and can also be found in Transylvania in the (older) main altar of the Tartlau church.

On three small branches of the altar crack there are three non-colored sculptures depicting the crucified Christ with Mary and the evangelist John on his side. Due to their style, these can be classified in the late 14th century, i.e. older than the rest of the altar.

Inscriptions

Middle panel: O fili dei miserere mei ; Ora pro me s [an] cta dei genitrix .

Birth table : annu [n] cio vobis gaud [ium] .

Panel with the Assumption: Ionas p [ro] pheta ; Ieremias p [ro] pheta .

Tablet of Mary's death: deus meus [respice in me] quare me dereliquisti; longe a salute mea verba [delictorum meorum] Deus meus clamabo per diem et non exaudies ( Ps 21,2-3 VUL ).

Annunciation panel : ave gracia plena dominus tecu [m] .

State of preservation and restoration

Before the restoration by Gisela Richter's workshop in Kronstadt, the altar was in a state that was severely affected by insect infestation. The panel painting was all dry, the blue, red and green changed by oxidation. The colored version of the festive tables was also extensively scuffed. The middle and wing panels show traces of pressed brocade, for example on the robe of the Virgin in the middle panel. Missing parts in the press brocade had simply been painted over. Only three figures have survived on the Predella panel. The background of the Predella panel is completely lost, except for the wooden ground.

The blast, which was about 80% destroyed, was completely re-carved in linden wood in Richter's workshop using the few original fragments. Additions to the frame were made in wood and wood putty, primed with putty and chalk, retouched with water color and varnished. The panels were mechanically cleaned, retouched with watercolors and varnished, and the gilding was added.

literature

Emese Sarkadi Nagy: Local Workshops - Foreign Connections: Late Medieval Altarpieces from Transylvania . In: Studia Jagellonica Lipsiensia, Volume 9 . Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7995-8410-4 , p. 27-30 .
Gisela and Otmar Richter: Transylvanian winged altars . In: Christoph Machat (ed.): Cultural monuments Transylvania. Vol. 1 . Word and World, Thaur near Innsbruck 1992, ISBN 978-3-85373-149-9 , p. 46-57 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gisela and Otmar Richter: Transylvanian winged altars . In: Christoph Machat (ed.): Cultural monuments Transylvania. Vol. 1 . Word and World, Thaur near Innsbruck 1992, ISBN 978-3-85373-149-9 , p. 46-57 .
^ ^A ^b Emese Sarkadi Nagy: Local Workshops - Foreign Connections: Late Medieval Altarpieces from Transylvania . In: Studia Jagellonica Lipsiensia, Volume 9 . Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7995-8410-4 , p. 173-175 .
^ ^A ^b ^c Emese Sarkadi Nagy: Local Workshops - Foreign Connections: Late Medieval Altarpieces from Transylvania . In: Studia Jagellonica Lipsiensia, Volume 9 . Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7995-8410-4 , p. 27-30 .

[Richter_1991-1] Gisela and Otmar Richter: Transylvanian winged altars . In: Christoph Machat (ed.): Cultural monuments Transylvania. Vol. 1 . Word and World, Thaur near Innsbruck 1992, ISBN 978-3-85373-149-9 , p. 46-57 .

[Sarkadi-Nagy_2012_Details-2] A ^b Emese Sarkadi Nagy: Local Workshops - Foreign Connections: Late Medieval Altarpieces from Transylvania . In: Studia Jagellonica Lipsiensia, Volume 9 . Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7995-8410-4 , p. 173-175 .

[Sarkadi_Nagy_Übersicht-3] A ^b ^c Emese Sarkadi Nagy: Local Workshops - Foreign Connections: Late Medieval Altarpieces from Transylvania . In: Studia Jagellonica Lipsiensia, Volume 9 . Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7995-8410-4 , p. 27-30 .