Maria in the ears of corn
Maria in the ear dress , even the ear dress Maria (but not quite right: the ear dress Madonna ) is in the medieval and early modern Christian art of the German-speaking countries the presentation of the later Blessed Mother Mary as youthful temple young woman in ear-decorated dress.
Pictorial tradition
The picture tradition is based on a comparatively narrow literary tradition: In the apocryphal gospels it is reported that Mary served in the temple in Jerusalem before she became pregnant with the baby Jesus. The origin of the pictorial tradition, as far as it can be traced back, was probably a miracle-working silver statue of the ear-dressing maria made in the first half of the 14th century north of the Alps, donated by German merchants to the Milan Cathedral and admired by them. It got lost during the construction of the cathedral and was replaced several times, for example in 1465 by a painting and around 1485 by a marble figure. The inscriptions of some woodcuts from the middle of the 15th century onwards refer to one of the subsequent paintings and also give us the necessary information about the meaning of the picture. The slender figure of the youthful Maria is shown in portrait format, equipped with the essential motifs of all these depictions: hair worn open, collar shaped like a flame wreath, hands clasped in prayer and, above all, the ears of corn on the long dress of the high-belted, standing temple maiden. These motifs are also retained in the series of paintings and sculptures of this pictorial theme from the decades around 1500 until the importance of the pictorial motif in the visual arts declines in the course of the 16th century and mainly on small devotional pictures of the German-speaking Alpine region until the end of the 18th century Century lives on. The overwhelming number of representations are standing individual figures without any scenic action and without being included, for example, in a cycle of the life of Mary . Regionally, the image type is limited to the German-speaking area.
Image meaning
The meaning of the ear dress cannot be clearly defined. Research has pointed to multiple references: The ear is a symbol of Christ and the Eucharist . The Song of Songs (7.3) speaks to the bride: "Your body is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies," an allegory , which was based in the medieval theology to Mary as mystical bride of Christ. The flames or rays on the neckline are to be understood as a light symbol and the belt of Mary as a sign of virginity.
At least one of the Milan's ears of corn was already a votive picture : a merchant condemned to death in a foreign country, to whom Maria appeared in the dress of corn at night, vowed to donate a picture to the Milan Cathedral for his rescue and was then miraculously released - according to medieval tradition. A corresponding background must also be assumed for the painting in Soest, on which a captive prisoner can be seen on the edge next to an intercessing woman.
Individual works
- Milan, Castello Sforzesco , marble figure from the Milan Cathedral, before 1485
- Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München , South German woodcut around 1450–60
- Zurich, ETH Collection , woodcut around 1465
- Copenhagen, National Museum of Denmark , woodcut, 15th century
- Munich, Bavarian National Museum , panel painting by the master of the Bamberg Altar , around 1430
- Soest, Wiesenkirche , panel painting around 1450–80
- Hamburger Kunsthalle , panel by Hinrik Funhof (see above)
- Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn , wooden sculpture, around 1450
- Bremen, Focke-Museum , Garland Maria as a double figure with mercy seat in a carved candlestick crown, around 1500
- Weimar, Castle Museum , panel from the Cranach workshop, 1518
- National Gallery Prague , Altar Wing, Master of the Litomerice Altarpiece, around 1500
- Gothic panel in the neo-Gothic high altar of the former Dominican church in Budweis , Czech Republic
- Baroque stone figure in front of the Dominican Church in Budweis, Czech Republic, Anna is reading the Bible with little Mary. Maria wears a crop of ears.
- Limburg Diocesan Museum, wooden sculpture from the end of the 15th century.
- Birgden , St. Urban , wooden sculpture painted in color, Heinrich Douvermann , around 1520.
literature
- Heinrich Detzel: Maria in ears of corn , in: Archive for Christian art. Organ of the Rottenburg Diocesan Art Association . 23rd year 1905, pp. 6–10, 19–23 and 34–35 ( digitized version )
- Engelbert Kirschbaum (first), Wolfgang Braunfels (ed.): Lexicon of Christian Iconography. Volume 1: General Iconography. A - Ezekiel. Herder, Freiburg (Breisgau) et al. 1968, p. 82 ff. (With literature).
- Alfred Löhr: Maria in the ear dress. In: Leonhard Küppers (Ed.): The Mother of God. Image of Mary in Rhineland and Westphalia. Bongers, Recklinghausen 1974, ISBN 3-7647-0265-6 , pp. 171-176.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Konstantin von Tischendorf : Evangelia apocrypha. Avenarius and Mendelssohn, Leipzig 1853, p. 60ff, p. 114ff.
- ↑ According to the inscription on the woodcut of the Ährenkleidmaria in the collection of the ETH Zurich