Master of the Rohrdorfer Altar
As a master of Rohrdorfer altar is medieval Swabian painter called that in 1480 a high altar of the church of St. John in Rohrdorf in Nagold in today Calw painted. The work of the artist, who is not known by name, was sold in the 19th century and is now in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart .
History of the altar
The master of the Rohrdorfer Altar created the altar for the Order of St. John . He had been resident in Rohrdorf for a long time and had a newly built seat there, a so-called Commandery, from around 1430 . One of his knights resided at the same time as the spiritual and secular ruler of the community in this building complex, which also included a Gothic church built around 1430. The Rohrdorfer Altar was commissioned around 1480 as a high altar for this church consecrated to Saint John the Baptist . On the outside of one of the altar wings, the biblical story of Herod's feast is depicted, a story about the life and death of the patron saint of the Order of St. John. The order was able to generate a considerable annual surplus in the commandery in the 15th century, and the commission to the master to create the Rohrdorfer altar can be seen as a sign of a lively measurement obligation in the church, which at that time provided another four side altars for the numerous priests Place and thus had a need for religious sculptures. The commandery in Rohrdorf went to the House of Württemberg in 1803, and the altar was finally sold to its current storage location.
Painting style
The master of the Rohrdorfer Altar still largely follows the tradition of high Gothic painting. His work also shows an early example of a new realism, a new painting style with spatial depth, attention to light effects and with a realistic anatomy of the people depicted. This shows the beginning of a style influence that is now also coming to Swabia for painting from other regions of southern Germany and above all from the Netherlands.
The master of the Rohrdorf Altarpiece may have had his workshop in Rottenburg am Neckar . He seems to be using templates from the early German engraver Meister ES and the southern German engraver and painter Martin Schongauer . The influence of works by the master of the Ehningen altar can also be seen , a Gothic painter who was probably also active in Rottenburg towards the end of the 15th century. The master of the Rohrdorfer Altar probably also adopted his new design language from the Netherlands from this. The master of the Rohrdorfer Altar fuses traditional and new influences and paints with a love of detail, but his representation of architecture and spatial perspective is not always correct, as is the case with his Dutch contemporaries, which is his position at the transition from formulaic and often only suggestive Gothic painting underlines the new realism coming from the Netherlands.
Identification as Martin Schwarz
Possibly the master of the Rohrdorf Altarpiece is the painter Frater Martin Schwarz, who can be traced back to Rothenburg ob der Tauber from 1485 and until his death in 1611 . There he became a member of the Franciscan Order, and other works ascribed to him show very clearly the use of templates by Martin Schongauer. In the pictures of the master of the Rohrdorfer Altar one also believes to recognize models by Schongauer and this confirms his identification with Schwarz. However, a clear connection between Martin Schwarz from Middle Franconia and the Swabian master of the Rohrdorfer Altar remains controversial, as does sometimes Frater Schwarz's painting activity.
Motifs of the Rohrdorfer Altar
The pictures of the Rohrdorf Altar, painted in oil on spruce wood, show New Testament scenes from the life of Jesus and his mother Mary on the inside , such as the Annunciation to Mary, the birth of Christ and the adoration of the kings. The death of Mary is also shown. Outside, among other things, the feast of Herod can be seen.
Individual evidence
- ^ Stuttgart, State Gallery, inventory no. 1223
- ^ Alfred Stange: German Gothic painting. IX, 1958, p. 118 f.
- ↑ Fritz Oskar Schupisser: Martin Schongauer is in Europe: The Copper Engraving Passion B.9-20 as a template for works by late medieval artists. In: Albert Châttelet, Pantxika Béguerie (ed.): Le beau Martin. Actes du colloque 1991, Strasbourg 1994, pp. 239-250.
- ^ H. Hoffmann: Was the Guardian Martin Schwarz a painter? In: Bavaria Franciscana Antiqua. 3, 1957, p. 563 f.
literature
- Bruno Bushart : The master of the Rohrdorfer Altar . In: Swabian homeland. Volume 8, 1957, pp. 2-11
- Alfred Stange: German Gothic painting. Volume 8: Swabia in the period from 1450 to 1500 . Munich and Berlin 1957, p.?.
- Bruno Bushart: Studies on Old Swabian Painting. Additions and corrections to Alfred Stange's 'German Painting of the Gothic', Vol. 8 . In: Journal for Art History. Volume 22, 1959, pp. 133-157,
- o. V .: The historic town hall of Rohrdorf. Horb a. N. 1991
- Sven Lüken: The Annunciation to Maria in the 15th and early 16th centuries . Göttingen 2000, p.?.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Master of the Rohrdorfer Altar |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Painter in Swabia (around 1480) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 15th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 15th century |