Master of the Göttingen barefoot altar

Göttingen barefoot altar

The Gothic painter who created an oversized altar painting for the Franciscan Barefoot Church in Göttingen around 1424 is known as the master of the Göttingen barefoot altar . The church was demolished between 1820 and 1824, the altar is now the “showpiece” of the Lower Saxony State Museum in Hanover. With a width of 7.87 meters and a height of 3.06 meters, the barefoot altar is the largest preserved Gothic altar in Lower Saxony.

The barefoot altar was restored from 1999 to 2005 in six years of work for 1.2 million euros.

Master of the Hildesheim Magdalen legend

The painter of the barefoot altar, not known by name , is also called the master of the Hildesheim Magdalene legend, after another work ascribed to him, which is considered to be his first verifiable work.

style

The style of the master of the Göttingen barefoot altar shows influences of the master of the golden table from Lüneburg (around 1415), some background scenes of the barefoot altar reveal an echo of the Wildunger altar (from 1403) by Conrad von Soest . The works of the master are the last representatives of the soft style in northern Germany.

Works (selection)

• Barefoot altar (former altar in the Barefoot Church in Göttingen), around 1424
  • Left inner wing : Six scenes from the life of Mary
  • Middle panel : Crucifixion and two scenes of the Passion , St. George and St. Francis
  • Right inside wing : Creed of the Apostles (nearly life-size font on bands proclaiming the Creed Apostles )
  • Outer wing : weekday page (including other apostle figures, Jesus in the temple, Pieta)

• Magdalenenlegende (former high altar of the Magdalenenkirche in Hildesheim ), around 1416
  • Scenes from the Magdalene legend : The fragments distributed in various museums show scenes from the Magdalene legend. So found z. For example, in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart there is a Noli me tangere (Don't touch me) , which depicts Jesus after the resurrection with Magdalena in a garden that is close to nature with rich details. Although the somewhat rigid style of the pictures shows that the painter probably had no influence outside of the northern German region, this shows his interest in the visual representation of reality. The pictures of the Magdalen legend are considered to be the master's first verifiable work.

The founder of the barefoot altar and the identity of the painter

On the middle panel of the barefoot altar two monks are shown kneeling under the cross. The banners on the left with inscriptions attached to them are named Brother Luthelmus ( Latin: frater luthelmus), identified by a second inscription on the frame as the abbot of the barefoot monastery at the time of production. The other monk is referred to as He (inrich) von Duderstadt . This monk, who cannot be further identified, was first identified as the painter of the altar, a thesis that was not accepted.

Web links

• Magdalene picture of the master , State Gallery Stuttgart
• New swing for old wings , report on the restoration of the barefoot altar in the Lower Saxony State Museum Hanover (PDF, accessed February 2010; 345 kB)
• Master of the Göttinger Barfüsseraltar ( Memento from March 6, 2005 in the Internet Archive ), In: The Grove Dictionary of Art , Macmillan Publishers, 2000, on artnet.com, in the Internet Archive , on archive.org, as of March 6, 2005 , seen May 2, 2011

Individual evidence

1. ^ R. Behrens: The Göttingen Barefoot Altar: A Contribution to the History of Lower Saxony Painting of the Early 15th Century . Bonn, 1939 (Dissertation Göttingen 1937)
2. ↑ B. Hartwied: A new impetus for old wing - changes of Discalced altar in the Lower Saxony State Museum, Hannover recovered . In: The MuseumsMagazin 2009 Lower Saxony State Museum, 2009, p. 24f.
3. ↑ M. Schawe: Iconographic investigations on the Göttingen barefoot altar from 1424 - the closed state . (Dissertation Göttingen 1967), Göttingen 1989, p. 67
4. ↑ New swing in old wings, Preserve, 2005, pdf
5. ^ R. Behrens: A Magdalene altar by the Göttingen barefoot master . In: nbk 1 (1961), p. 159ff.
6. ^ R. Behrens: The Göttingen Barefoot Altar: A Contribution to the History of Lower Saxony Painting of the Early 15th Century . Bonn, 1939 (Dissertation Göttingen 1937)
7. ↑ cf. z. BH Breuer: The Franciscan Immaculate Doctrine, its turning point under Duns Scotus. Reflections on the iconography of the Göttingen barefoot altar (1424) . (Libelli Rhenani), Cologne 2007
8. ↑ K. Herbers, R. Plötz: The Jakobuskult in "Art" and "Literature": testimonies in pictures, monuments, writing and sound . Gunter Narr Verlag, 1998, p. 38
9. ↑ M. Schawe: On the everyday page of the Göttingen barefoot altar from 1424 . In: Low German Contributions to Art History 27 (1966), pp. 63–84
10. ↑ cf. z, B. State Gallery . In: Branscheid: Baedeker Allianz travel guide Stuttgart . Baedeker, 2008
11. ^ R. Behrens: A Magdalene altar by the Göttingen barefoot master . In nbk 1 (1961), p. 159ff.
12. ^ CG Heise: North German painting, studies of its development history in the 15th century from Cologne to Hamburg . (Dissertation Kiel). Kiel 1916