Master of the Altar of Mauer near Melk
With master of the altar of Wall at Melk an unnamed known is carver of Gothic called, who worked at from 1500 to 1525. He got his emergency name after his work, the altar for the pilgrimage church of Mauer near Melk. The work, created around 1510, is considered a miracle of Gothic carving in the Austrian Danube region . The middle part of the altar shows Mary with child and saint, scenes from the life of Mary are depicted on the side wings. Possibly two artists were involved in the altar, as one believes to recognize different processing in the figures above, the crucifixion group in the altarpiece.
The carved altar in Mauer near Melk
Art historical background
The altar of Mauer near Melk stands at the transition from the late Gothic to the Renaissance . In the 15th century the medieval worldview was superseded, humanism ushered in a new epoch that focused on people and their environment. Religious art moves away from the formulaic representation of its subjects. Physicality and a sense of space are taking hold. What is striking about the altar in Mauer bei Melk are the new forms of decoration, such as fruit sticks and garlands, which seem to be based on Northern Italian models. Even so, the altar is still associated with tradition. A down-to-earth language determines form and expression.
Shrine (middle part): Mary with child
The composition of the figures in the central shrine connects them to form a lively, moving yet closed group. Mary with the child is at the center, surrounded by saints. God the Father is enthroned above it.
Wing: Life of Mary
The two wings of the altar show scenes from the life of Mary.
- Annunciation
Woodcuts and copperplate engravings are probably models for the Annunciation scene, so a life of Mary by Dürer may have served as a suggestion in this relief. This is shown e.g. B. in the angel of the Annunciation with its wings spread wide. The design of Maria, on the other hand, was monumentalized in relief and the draperies were adapted to the heavy folds of the Gothic style.
- visitation
A model from Dürer's life of the Virgin Mary is also suspected in the depiction of this scene. In contrast to the Annunciation scene, the carver adheres more closely to the template, which becomes clear in some details. On the one hand, Maria and Elisabeth are taken directly from the template, on the other hand, the loop of the belt was adopted for the robe, as well as the dog in the foreground.
- Birth of christ
For this relief, Dürer's model was not used, but rather a copper engraving by Martin Schongauer that was often used . He came up with the idea of the vaulted hall space with partially perforated walls. The raw ashlar wall also comes from this. The relief is limited to the main characters, the shepherds are missing at the entrance on the left. Mary is bent lower in the relief, and Joseph is not on the right, but on the left of Mary. Ox and donkey are inspired by the engraving, but varied freely.
- Death of Mary
The series of wing reliefs ends with the death of Mary. In most of the depictions of Death Mariae she is shown lying in bed, not at the altar of Mauer. Here the artist shows Mary collapsing, supported by some apostles, while the others are grouped around this scene. This type is found exclusively in Bohemia, Silesia, Poland, Hungary, Austria and southern Germany. What is striking about this depiction is that it is God the Father, enthroned on a bank of clouds, who takes the soul into heaven, and not, as usual, Christ.
Altarpiece: crucifixion group
The crucified Christ can be seen in the altarpiece, flanked by two male figures standing below the cross. These point to two tablets that hang down from the cross beam. The two figures do not have any attributes , but based on the Latin text on the tablets they can be identified as the prophets Zacharias on the left and Isaiah on the right.
Reception in the 19th century
In one of the first travel guides through Biedermeier Austria, the work " Vienna's Environs for Twenty Hours Around " by Adolf Schmidl from 1835, the altar has already been appropriately appreciated:
- But what makes this old work of art most remarkable is the fact that it is not painted or gilded, but shows itself in the original color of the wood, only significantly browned with age. In view of the rarity of this type of work of art, one can judge with what delight the friend of old art looks at this work, where the genius of the master is revealed without any cover!
literature
- Rupert Feuchtmüller : The carved altar in Mauer near Melk. A miracle of Gothic carving. 2nd, increased edition. Verlag Niederösterreichisches Pressehaus, Vienna et al. 1955.
- Mechthild Latzin: The carved retable in Mauer near Melk. New interpretive approaches (studies and research from the Lower Austrian Institute for Regional Studies 65). Publishing house Lower Austria Institute for Regional Studies, St. Pölten 2018.
- Gregor M. Lechner: The carved altar by the master of Mauer near Melk (= Great Art Guide. Vol. 254). Schnell + Steiner, Regensburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-7954-2356-8 .
Web links
- Master of the Altar of Mauer bei Melk Short biography at AEIOU austria-lexikon.at
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rupert Feuchtmüller: The carved altar in wall near Melk. A miracle of Gothic carving. 2nd, increased edition. 1955.
- ^ Theobald Wirth: The carved altar of wall near Melk. In: The Minster. Vol. 50, 1997, ISSN 0027-299X , pp. 142-155.
- ↑ This description has been removed from the article Wallfahrtskirche Mauer and briefly edited
- ↑ Zachariahs 11:12, 13
- ↑ Isaiah 53: 4–5
- ^ Adolf Schmidl: Vienna's surroundings for twenty hours in a circle. Described by Adolf Schmidl after his own hikes. Printed and published by Carl Gerold, Vienna 1835, p. 331.