Triumphal cross group in Halberstadt Cathedral
The triumphal cross group in the cathedral of St. Stephanus and St. Sixtus in Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt depicts the crucifixion scene on Golgotha. It consists of five wooden larger-than-life figures placed on a triumphal beam decorated with reliefs. The crucifixion scene is above the rood screen in the middle of the nave. It is the most important work of art that was incorporated into the new Gothic building. In comparison with the triumphal cross groups in Wechselburg and Freiberg, it is the oldest and “best preserved” cross group in the original design of its overall composition.
As early as the 10th century, such large crosses served as a separation between the lay area in the central nave and the clergy in the choir area. Since the 12th century, crucifixion groups with the mourning figures of Mary and John have emerged. The crucifixion group in Halberstadt is special because there are also large sculptures of angels.
Historical background
The triumphal cross group was created around 1215, at the latest around 1220, in the year the cathedral was re- consecrated, and was placed in the vault of the choir of the Ottonian cathedral in Halberstadt. The creator of the cross group is unknown. The predecessor of the Ottonian cathedral was a Carolingian three-aisled and cross-shaped cathedral. After the collapse of the Carolingian cathedral, construction began on the Ottonian cathedral, which was consecrated in 992. In the Gothic building that followed, the cross group was adopted as a work of the late Romanesque period. The triumphal cross group had to fill a smaller space in the previous Ottonian building, which is probably why it was perceptible in an even more haunting way. The group also appeared to be much more massive, as it was not, as in the Gothic building, in a light-flooded room that strived for verticality through pointed arches and pillars. The rooms of the Romanesque building were much lower, darker and more closed.
In order to integrate the group of crosses into the Gothic space, the gravity should be dissolved by verticalization. In order to harmonize and balance the horizontal and vertical lines, the Gothic loft porch was built after 1500. The vestibule with its two ogival portals, the high pinnacles and the beam with the group of crosses became a more uniform and monumental object.
A Christmas bread bowl from the 12th century, which Bishop Konrad von Krosigk brought to Halberstadt Cathedral after his return from the fourth crusade and which was donated to the cathedral in a deed of donation from 1208 along with other Byzantine works of cabaret, is considered to be Byzantine influence . There is also a representation of the cross group on it. The depiction of the crucifixion scene with Mary and John is already present in Byzantine art and early medieval illumination. It served as a stimulus for statues and sculptures of late Romanesque art and can be seen as an inspiration for the triumphal cross group above the rood screen.
Description of the triumphal cross group
The triumphal cross group is located above the rood screen and stands on a beam that can be called the triumphal beam. Originally, the beam facing the nave was provided with busts of the twelve apostles , while the choir side had busts of twelve prophets . There are canopies over their heads. When the triumphal cross group was taken over from the Ottonian to the Gothic building, the beam had to be shortened in the 15th century as it did not fit between the wider Gothic crossing pillars that were supposed to stabilize the high vaults. For this reason there are only ten busts left on both sides. Its original length must have been about 9.5 meters. Due to its shortening, the length decreased by about one meter. Its diameter is 75 centimeters. The horizontal bar does not correspond to the vertical interior design.
The triumphal cross group consists of a monumental cross on which Jesus Christ is depicted crucified. It is located in the middle of the triumphal beam. On the right side of Christ are the Holy Mother Mary and on the left side John the Evangelist. Next to each there is an angel figure.
Above all else, the symmetrical cross dominates. On closer inspection, you can see that the wooden cross, which has three-leaf clover-shaped triple passes at all four ends, surrounds the actual narrower cross to which the Jesus figure is attached. Three passes are a form of design that was already present in contemporary cabaret. The framing and wider cross has a size of over five meters. There is an angel in each of the three peaks on the side, apparently trying to support the cross. In the lower three pass is Adam, who looks up. Under Adam, two angels fix the heavy cross outside the three passport. At the same height in the choir area is a relief representation of the Easter scene in which the women meet an angel who announces the resurrection of Christ to them. In the upper trefoil there is another angel who the Kreuztitulus holds. It is a banner with the Pilate heading "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum", which is abbreviated to INRI .
- “But Pilate wrote a heading and put it on the cross; and it was written: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Many Jews read this heading; for the place was near the city where Jesus was crucified. And it was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin ”. ( Joh 19,19-20 EU )
In the crossing of the cross there is an indicated halo. Jesus is in the moment of dying. He rests his body on a snake-like dragon that serves as a suppedaneum . The dragon symbolizes the sin overcome by Christ's death. Jesus' body forms a slightly curved shape. He is nailed to the cross with four nails. He has bowed his head and does not wear a crown of thorns. The wounds are also hardly visible. This depiction of the crucifixion combines features of the Romanesque and Gothic epochs.
Next to the crucified Jesus Christ, who is nailed to the imposing cross, there are two people on the left and two on the right side of the cross. The figures are 2.20 meters high and correspond to the size of the cross. On the right is the figure of the Holy Mother Mary. She wears a robe that reaches the floor. The tips of her feet can be seen. Your body is turned in a three-quarter position towards the cross. Her head is tilted slightly and her hands are folded as a symbol of mourning, with the left hand clasping the right. She has wide open eyes and a rigid face.
On the left side of the cross is a man who is the disciple John the Evangelist. His posture is positioned frontally to the viewer, with his upper body leaning to the side and thus moving away from the cross. His gaze is not on the crucified one. He also wears a floor-length robe. The left arm is bent. The hand reaches for his robe in the stomach area. The right arm is also bent, with this hand resting on the right side of his face. This gesture is worrying. Mary stands on a dragon-like snake and John stands on a king who stands for paganism. There is no excess of emotional expression in the faces of Mary and John. In accordance with the mourning gesture of the Romanesque, the expression is restrained. The pain is not illustrated. This changes in the representation of the late Gothic, in which grief is visualized. Maria and Johannes become compassionate people who attend the scene. As a late Romanesque work in a Gothic church, appearance and meaning influence the timelessness of the cross group.
At each of the outer ends of the beam there is an angel with six wings, which are reminiscent of the biblical seraphim. Two of the wings cross in front of the chest, two others cross over the head. The remaining two wings can only be seen on the side of the choir area. Her feet can be seen. They are located on sun-like wheels that indicate the fire wheels of the cherubim mentioned in the Bible. The figures face the viewer directly. Your hands are turned up and rigidly distanced from your body. Her robe reaches to her ankles. The looks and facial expressions are neutral. While the angel on the left of Jesus is looking frontally, the head of the angel on his right is directed towards the cross.
By slightly turning the figures (Mary's three-quarter pose) or by turning the head (the angel to the right of Christ) towards the cross, the individual figures in the group appear like a closed unit. At the same time, the frontal representation of individual figures lets the salvation-historical scene affect the community. There are considerable remains of medieval colors on the triumphal cross group. Thus, the colored appearance could be reconstructed. The linen cloth that is tied around Christ's waist is made of gold. The framing cross still has a reddish tone, while the inner cross is blue and green.
Representation of Christ on the cross
The original iconography of Christ in the Romanesque era was based on the depiction of the holy and triumphant Christ. In this form of representation, torture was less the theme than the royal savior. This was expressed through the mostly upright and still living Christ, through the absence of the crown of thorns and the four-nail type. With the four-nail type, Christ's feet were next to each other on the suppedaneum, which apparently ensured a better hold and was less painful. The body of Jesus assumed a living, upright position.
With the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic epoch (approx. 1150–1500) the beliefs regarding the death of Christ on the cross changed and there was a tendency in the artistic representation less to a sublime representation than to one that depicts the agonizing death of the condemned and dying Christ illustrates. Characteristics of torture are the crown of thorns and the resulting stigmata, which are depicted in all drastic ways. Usually death has already occurred and the body has collapsed. Another noticeable change in Gothic is the three-nail type. In this case, Christ's feet are on top of each other, so only one nail is needed for fixation. Finding a stable hold seems hopeless. This can be recognized by the increased lack of the suppedaneum, which literally causes the entire body weight to be blown on one foot.
Sometimes the shape of the cross also changed from a general “T” shape to a “Y” shape ( forked cross ) in order to illustrate not so much the standing as the hanging of the body.
Comparison with other crucifixes
The Gero Cross in Cologne Cathedral is an excellent example of the older representation . It has a sublime effect. Due to the golden color, the halo at the height of the head of Jesus and the illuminating glow like a ray of sunshine that frames the entire cross, the work appears royal and triumphant. The head is bowed, Jesus seems to have already died. There is no crown of thorns on his head. The body of Christ is standing, but tilted slightly into an "S" shape. The four-nail type is used in this work. The feet stand next to each other and find support on the suppedaneum.
In contrast, there is the forked cross in St. Maria in the Capitol in Cologne. Fork crosses got their name because of their fork-like appearance. These crosses are also known as plague crosses . Originally plague crosses were made of stone and wood. They can be found in some cemeteries and serve as a reminder of the dead who fell victim to plague epidemics in the Middle Ages. This work is a vivid example of the tortured Savior, as the work fits the habitus of the suffering Christ and illustrates the description of the body in Heinrich von St. Gallen's Passion Tracts. The twisted, thin arms, the pushed out ribs, the blood that oozes from the puncture holes on the feet and hands through the nails and on the head through the crown of thorns are made clear. The head is sunk low and the body has slumped in on itself through the crossbar of the cross, which is bent high upwards. The cross has no suppedaneum. Thus there is no support for the crucified one, whose whole body weight is distributed over the pierced hands and feet. It can also be seen that the three-nail type was used in this work. The painful death is extremely illustrated on this forked cross.
Religious typology
The concept of typology dates back to the 18th century; it was most widespread in the fine arts in the High and Late Middle Ages. The typology was revived in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the typology there is a systematic connection between the Old and New Testaments. This is done by establishing figural relationships between a person from the Old Testament (type, prefiguration) and primarily Jesus Christ from the New Testament (antitype). The church typology is therefore mostly Christ-centric. Promise and fulfillment are inherent in typology as a biblical exegetical method. There is a targeted and salvation-historical progression from the Old to the New Testament. At the same time, both groups of people have similar characteristics.
In the triumphal cross group, the typology can be found in Adam as a prefiguration and Christ as the antitype. In the lower triad of the cross is Adam, who turns his head and looks up at the crucified Christ. By eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge, Adam is considered to be the bringer of original sin over humanity. He embodies fallen humanity. He appears at the beginning of the Old Testament. Analogously, Jesus Christ is at the beginning of the New Testament. Through his death on the cross and the resulting redemption of mankind, he is considered the second Adam and the victor over original sin. Adam's disobedience banished humanity from God. He stands for all of sinful humanity. However, Jesus leads mankind back to God. There is an interaction. Adam goes from a sublime being to mortal man through original sin. Jesus dies as a human being to conquer original sin, awakens to new life and ascends to heaven as God's Son. Christ awakens mankind, sinful through Adam, to new life. According to a legend, the tomb of Adam was on Golgotha, the place of the crucifixion. The forefather awoke from death through the dripping blood.
However, an Old Testament figure does not necessarily have to represent the type of Christ. Typologies can also be found in person constellations in which Christ is not involved. In the triumphal cross group this can be found in the figure of Mary. It stands on a snake-like being, which symbolically points to the snake in Paradise, who seduced Eve in Paradise to take the fruit of the tree of knowledge and give it to Adam, who ate from her. Eve is also at the beginning of the Old Testament and Mary appears at the beginning of the New Testament. While Eve, through her influence on Adam, seduces him into disobedience and is to be understood as the mother of original sin, Mary functions not only as the birth mother of Jesus, but also as the holy mother, who immaculately receives and gives birth to the Redeemer of humanity. She is the second Eve who through her function overcomes sin in the form of the serpent.
The Halberstadt Triumphal Cross also takes on a typological meaning. From an earthly perspective, the wooden cross serves as the instrument of execution on which Jesus will die. In the Christian doctrine of salvation, however, the cross stands for overcoming sin and eternal life. In contrast to this stands the tree of knowledge, from which Adam and Eve, although they were forbidden by God, eat a fruit and thus bring sin and death over all humanity. Until Christ's death on the cross, humanity lives at an insurmountable distance from God.
The relief representations of the prophets on the triumphal beam in the direction of the nave also function as pre-figurations of the apostles, which are located as reliefs on the beam in the choir area. The prophets promised the coming and working of the Messiah. The apostles followed Jesus Christ as disciples. They became witnesses of his words and deeds and proclaimed them to the people after Jesus' ascension and Pentecost .
Maria and Johannes
Next to Christ on the cross there are two human persons, one on his left and one on his right. The fact that the female person is the holy mother Mary seems logical due to the family connection. However, that the male person is supposed to be the disciple John only becomes clear through an explicit passage from the Bible. Mary and the disciple are said to have found themselves on Golgotha under the cross of Christ. Jesus looked down on them and saw his mother's suffering and said to both of them:
- “Woman, see, this is your son! Afterwards he said to the disciple, Behold, this is your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to him. "( Jn 19,26-27 EU )
The angels cherubim and seraphim
There is an angel at each end of the triumphal cross group. The two angels have characteristics of two different groups of angels, the so-called seraphim and cherubim. In the Bible the characteristics of the angels overlap and do not allow a strict classification.
The prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament speaks for the first time about the seraphim as six-winged beings. Two of the wings cover her face, two others her feet and another two wings let her fly. You hold glowing coals in your hands. One of the angels touches Isaiah's lips with a piece of coal to free him from uncleanness:
- “Seraphim stood over him; Each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; all lands are full of his honor! the overflows trembled with the voice of their calling, and the house was full of smoke. "( Is 6: 2-4 EU )
The prophet Ezekiel, also from the Old Testament, speaks for the first time about the four-winged cherubim, which stand on fiery wheels and are located at the throne of God. The cherubim are considered the servants of the glory of God, through whose wings the voice of God can be heard:
- “And the glory of the LORD rose up from the cherub on the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of splendor with the glory of the Lord. And the wings of the cherubim could be heard rustling into the outer courtyard like a mighty voice of Almighty God when he speaks. And when he had commanded the man in the canvas, saying: Put fire between the wheels under the cherubim. he went in and stood next to the wheel. "( Ezek 10 : 4-6 EU )
In the Revelation of John in the New Testament, the cherubim reappear. The cherubim are referred to as four heavenly beings (with the faces of a lion, a bull, a human and a flying eagle). In addition, her body and back are covered with many eyes. You are at the throne of God. The Last Judgment comes upon the earth:
- “And each of the four beasts had six wings, and they were full of eyes around the outside and inside, and had no rest day or night, saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and who comes! "( Rev 4 : 8 EU )
As already mentioned, it is difficult to define what kind of angel it is by mixing the characteristics of both angels. If you look at the angel figures in the nave area, you can see four wings. In the choir area, however, you can see six wings. One interpretation would be that the angel figures are both cherubim (four wings in the nave) and seraphim (six wings in the choir area). The lay people who look at the four-winged cherubim get an indirect glimpse of the throne of God. This is illustrated by the frontal contemplation of the monumental Grand Cross, as Christ fulfills the will of God, the salvation of mankind from original sin. In the choir area, the clergy observes the six-winged seraphim, the appearance of which is impressively described. Like “smoke” the glory of God fills the choir area.
The triumphal cross group in Wechselburg
A similarly monumental triumphal cross group is located in Wechselburg in Saxony. The depicted crucifixion scene has similarities, but also differences to the triumphal cross group in Halberstadt.
While there are five larger than life statues on the triumphal beam in Halberstadt, there are only three wooden statues in Wechselburg. A triumphal beam is completely missing. You can see the wooden cross, which, like in Wechselburg, is embedded in a larger cross and framed by it. The outer cross also has three passes, but only at the ends of the crossbar and at the upper end of the longitudinal bar. The framing cross has a bluish tone, while the inner cross has a reddish tone. In the three passes there are also angels who appear to be carrying the narrow wooden cross. At the lower end of the cross there is no three pass as in Halberstadt, in which Adam is. In Wechselburg, Adam is below the cross as a figure lying on his back, propping himself off the floor with his left arm. He looks up at the crucified one.
In the depiction of the crucified, the transition from Romanesque to Gothic can be seen in the fact that, unlike in Halberstadt, Christ is already depicted crucified in the three-nail type. This Jesus figure also already wears a crown of thorns. He is also in the moment of dying because his body is already assuming the sagging "S" shape. Next to the cross are the figures of the holy mother Mary and the disciple John. Mary, who is to the right of Christ as in Halberstadt, stands here instead of on a snake on a human-looking being. John also stands on a person. The gesture of both figures corresponds to that of the figures in Halberstadt. The figures - especially their faces and the robes - look much more plastic and filigree.
Other approximately simultaneous triumphal crosses or groups from the period 1215–1235 can be found in the Church of Our Lady Halberstadt , in Freiberg Cathedral and in the village church of Schönhausen (Elbe) .
literature
- Paulus Hinz: Present Past. Halberstadt Cathedral and Treasury. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1962. pp. 80–94.
- Johanna Flemming, Edgar Lehmann, Ernst Schubert: Cathedral and cathedral treasure of Halberstadt. Böhlau, Vienna / Cologne 1974. pp. 33–37. ISBN 3-7338-0058-3 .
- Bernd Mohnhaupt: Networks of relationships. Typological art of the Middle Ages (= Vestigia Bibliae. Volume 22). Peter Lang, Bern a. a. 2000. pp. 13-19. ISBN 3-906765-72-5 .
- Peter Findeisen: Halberstadt. Cathedral, Liebfrauenkirche, Cathedral Square (= The Blue Books ). 3. Edition. Langewiesche, Königstein im Taunus 2005. P. 56. ISBN 3-7845-4605-6 .
- Frank Büttner, Andrea Gottdang: Introduction to Iconography. Ways to interpret image content. 2nd Edition. Beck, Munich 2009. pp. 56-63. ISBN 978-3-406-53579-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Paulus Hinz: Present past. Halberstadt Cathedral and Treasury. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1962. p. 80.
- ^ A b Johanna Flemming, Edgar Lehmann, Ernst Schubert: Cathedral and cathedral treasure of Halberstadt. Böhlau, Vienna / Cologne 1974. p. 33.
- ↑ Paulus Hinz: Present Past. Halberstadt Cathedral and Treasury. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1962. p. 89.
- ↑ Paulus Hinz: Present Past. Halberstadt Cathedral and Treasury. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1962. P. 90.
- ↑ a b Paulus Hinz: Present past. Halberstadt Cathedral and Treasury. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1962. p. 84.
- ↑ Paulus Hinz: Present Past. Halberstadt Cathedral and Treasury. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1962. P. 90.
- ↑ a b c d Paulus Hinz: Present past. Halberstadt Cathedral and Treasury. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1962. p. 82.
- ↑ Paulus Hinz: Present Past. Halberstadt Cathedral and Treasury. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1962. pp. 84–85.
- ↑ Paulus Hinz: Present Past. Halberstadt Cathedral and Treasury. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1962. pp. 89, 94.
- ^ Johanna Flemming, Edgar Lehmann, Ernst Schubert: Cathedral and cathedral treasure of Halberstadt. Böhlau, Vienna / Cologne 1974. p. 35.
- ↑ Frank Büttner, Andrea Gottdang: Introduction to Iconography. Ways to interpret image content. 2nd Edition. Beck, Munich 2009. pp. 56-57.
- ↑ Bernd Mohnhaupt: Networks of relationships. Typological art of the Middle Ages (= Vestigia Bibliae. Volume 22). Peter Lang, Bern a. a. 2000. p. 13.
- ^ Johanna Flemming, Edgar Lehmann, Ernst Schubert: Cathedral and cathedral treasure of Halberstadt. Böhlau, Vienna / Cologne 1974. p. 34.