Master of the Holy Blood Veronica Altar

Heiligenblut, parish church, Veronica altar, around 1500

Heiligenblut, parish church, Veronica altar, around 1500

The late medieval painter who painted the pictures for the Veronica altar in the parish church of Heiligenblut in the village of Heiligenblut in Carinthia in Austria is referred to in art history as the master of the Heiligenblut Veronica Altar or painter of the Heiligenblut Veronica Altar .

The master probably came from Brixen and worked in the region around Carinthia between 1490 and 1530. His pictures for the Veronica Altar are an example of a work of art from the Carinthia region, which had developed into a center of panel painting , especially in Villach , in the peacetime after 1500 at the end of a period of Turkish invasions in Carinthia , peasant uprisings and the Hungarian War . The master of the Heiligenblut Veronica Altar was probably involved in other works in the region during this period of increasing demand for winged altars .

When open, the Veronica altar in Heiligenblut shows a carved high relief of St. Veronica with the handkerchief in the middle . The carving comes from another artist, probably, as was often the case at the time, the main contractor, a picture carver and joiner's workshop that had to design the frame and shrine of the altar and hired the painter of the wings as a subcontractor on account.

The Veronica Altar in Heiligenblut was donated in 1491 by the Villach couple Blasius and Apolonia Lazerin, the painter of the altar depicted the patrons of the donors' names on the outer wings and Saint Blasius and Saint Apollonia are shown when closed . In the gusset of the altar there is also a large-format picture of Saint Catherine of Alexandria . The predella paintings show the Man of Sorrows surrounded by Mary and the Apostle John .

If the altar was open on special holidays and festivals, it showed Saint Veronica in the middle, to the right and left the figures of the Saints Apostles Peter and Paul, which were also carved, stand at the side of the depiction of the handkerchief. On the left of the inner wings surrounding the carving, the master of the Holy Blood Veronica Altar can see the prophet Daniel with lions and on the right Brictius, with his attribute three ears, painted in front of a filigree ornate golden background. As was customary at the time the altar was built, all figures are depicted in the clothing of the time. The secular people are mainly depicted in the fashion of the rising middle class of Carinthia and indicate the increased self-confidence of this social class.

Because of its donors, the altar is sometimes called the Lazarinischer Veronica Altar . Today the altar stands in the organ gallery in the left aisle of the church in Heiligenblut and can usually be seen in the open state.

literature

• Otto Demus : The late Gothic altars of Carinthia . (From Research and Art, History Association for Carinthia, Volume 25). History Association for Carinthia, Klagenfurt 1991, ISBN 3-85454-070-1 .
• Sven Lüken: The Annunciation to Maria in the 15th and early 16th centuries: historical and art historical investigations . Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000, ISBN 3-525-47901-8 .