Orsoy Passion Altar
The Orsoy Passion Altar is a winged retable from the workshop of the Flemish painter Colijn de Coter , who is then named as the "Master of Orsoy". The old Dutch work was created around 1500/1550 and is now part of the inventory of the Catholic parish church St. Nikolaus in Orsoy on the Lower Rhine . The altar was previously installed in the original Orsoyer St. Niklaus Church, today's Protestant church , until it was removed from it in 1638 as a late consequence of the Reformation . The work of art is a carved altar with four painted wings . In addition to de Coter, the sculptor Jan Borman may have contributed to the retable .
Altar shrine
The raised central part of the reredos, the actual altar cabinet, consists of late Gothic carvings that show scenes from the life of Jesus Christ in eight fields. The central main field shows the crucifixion of Jesus Christ . In the center, clad only in a loincloth, there is Christ on the cross on his sides in a crooked position, the two thieves who are fully clothed. At the foot of the cross is Mary Magdalene, who is supported by John. Next to them Maria and a large group of riders who surround the bearded captain. The centurion points to Christ with his right arm. Two soldiers stand in the foreground of the scene. One of the swords bears the renewed inscription "LHUE ASTRTD".
The space below shows the Last Supper. The carrying of the cross can be seen in the left chambers of the altar cabinet. St. Veronica holding the sudarium with the image of Jesus in her hands. In the fields below, the entry into Jerusalem is depicted on the left and Christ with Mary Magdalene on the right. The right three chambers show the burial of Christ with Mary Magdalene kneeling in front of the coffin. In the fields below, Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and the arrest of Christ are depicted.
In each of the canopies of the three main fields there is a smaller scene: Christ is nailed to the cross, Christ is interrogated by Pilate and Christ is taken from the cross.
wing
The pentaptych shows depictions of the Passion on the inside of the 2.75 meter high and 2.90 meter wide wings, while the outside is painted with scenes from the life of St. Nicholas of Myra . The representations are of high quality and kept in bright colors.
The scenes in detail:
- Inside:
- Christ is stripped
- Christ before Herod brought
- Christ is brought before the people by Pilate
- Christ is taken from the cross.
- Descent into hell of Christ
- Resurrection of Christ
- John the Baptist baptizes Jesus in the Jordan
- Resurrection of Lazarus
- Capture of Christ
- Christ is interrogated by Kajaphas
- Outside:
- Consecration of Nicholas as bishop
- Unloading the grain ship
- Consecration of Nicholas as bishop
- Saying goodbye to Nikolaus father
- Nicholas on his death bed
- Nicholas saves three innocent convicts
Restorations
In 1850/51 the shrine was newly gilded and colored. When the church was destroyed in 1945, the winged altar was also damaged. Between 1950 and 1952 the wings were restored. Between 1967 and 1974, the carved middle section was renewed.
Investigations in 2006 produced new results that even went deeper with infrared . Severe damage was revealed, which requires extensive restoration, even bullets. In 2013 the altar was dismantled and brought to Bonn for restoration.
Since December 2016, the altar has been temporarily set up in the Evangelical Church because there are clear structural defects and moisture damage in the St. Nicholas Church and the renovation of the church will take two to five years.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kisky 1956, p. 105.
- ↑ rp-online.de; Passion altar soon with the Protestants; December 23, 2015 by Uwe Plien
- ↑ Evangelical parish Orsoy, The high altar of St. Nicholas
- ↑ orsoy.net, The Altar Returns to St. Nikolaus in Orsoy, September 26, 2015 written by derwesten.de, by Peter Bußmann
Web links
literature
- Paul Clemen : The art monuments of the district of Moers. Düsseldorf 1892, p. 43f.
- Jeanne Tombu: The Brussels School at Orsoy. In: The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 52, 1928, pp. 132-143.
- Hans Kisky: The restoration of the high altar wings by Colijn de Coter in the Catholic parish church in Orsoy. In: Yearbook of the Rheinische Denkmalpflege 2, 1956, p. 105.
- Ernst Gall : manual of the German art monuments . North Rhine-Westphalia, I. Rhineland. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1967, p. 533.
- Dieter Kastner, Gerhard Köhnen: Orsoy. History of a small town , Braun, Duisburg 1981, ISBN 3-87096-160-0 , p. 236ff.
- Ulrich Becker: The Passion Altar by Orsoy and the Brussels reredos production around 1500. In: Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 52, 1989, pp. 43–76.
Coordinates: 51 ° 31 '25.8 " N , 6 ° 41' 16.9" E