Exhibition Label:
"Forms of Thought," Mar-2014, Kris Ercums
This statue may have been designed as a hausmadonna (House Madonna)-that is, a devotional sculpture installed on a non-religious building and endowed with protective or evil-averting powers. Originally shielded from the elements by a canopy, the sculptural work may also have been surrounded by a carved wreath of roses. The moon under the figure’s feet variously symbolized chastity and the Catholic dogma of Immaculate Conception; it also foretold the apocalyptic end of
the world.
Among the most significant of the limewood sculptors of Renaissance Germany, Riemenschneider was a key figure in the transition from the ethereal forms that dominated the Late Gothic period to more realistic human forms of the German Renaissance. During his lifetime, he enjoyed great success as a sculptor and ran an enormous workshop in Würzburg staffed by an estimated forty assistants.
Label Sep-2009:
Riemenschneider is among the most significant of the limewood sculptors of Renaissance Germany. He is especially noted for spanning the gap between the ethereal, sinuous forms of the late gothic and the more down-to-earth conceptions of the German Renaissance. Riemenschneider ran an enormous workshop in Würzburg with as many as forty assistants. This team of specialists, headed by Riemenschneider, produced stunning altarpieces with elaborate tracery that extended up toward the vaults of their chapels. The most important figures, such as the Virgin, Jesus and the Apostles, generally convey more penetrating and thoughtful emotions and are assumed to have been carved by Riemenschneider himself.
The Virgin and Child may have been a “Haus-Madonna,” a devotional sculpture installed on a secular building that would protect its inhabitants. This work may have been protected from the elements by a canopy and may once have been surrounded by a carved wooden wreath of roses. White roses were considered to represent the Virgin’s purity and she was sometimes called the “rose without thorns.” The moon under her feet is the symbol for Chastity, Immaculate Conception, and the Woman of the Apocalypse.
This sculpture was likely carved from half of a tree trunk, which contributes to the slimness of the figures. Riemenschneider, long considered to have left his works unpainted, in fact used subtle, tinted glazes that have been lost in this sculpture.
Toward the end of his career Riemenschneider sided with the peasants in the Peasant’s Revolt of 1525, for which he was imprisoned. Although he was released within a year, he never regained the momentum or quality of his earlier career.
Archive Label:
Riemenschneider carved the Virgin and Child relatively early in his career. The Virgin presents the Child to the worshipper with a pensive expression on her face, indicating that she sees clearly His future suffering. The work was intended as a devotional image for a church or chapel and may once have been surrounded by a carved wooden wreath of roses. White roses were considered to represent the Virgin’s purity and she was sometimes called the “rose without thorns.” The moon under her feet is the symbol for chastity, Immaculate Conception, and the Woman of the Apocalypse.
The Bishop, while in the style of Riemenschneider, is probably not by the master himself but rather by a carver trained in his workshop. The color of the wood gives a good idea of what the figures looked like before they were painted. (The darker color of the Virgin is the result of later staining.) The Bishop was not meant to stand alone as he does here, but was once part of a larger altarpiece with many figures.
Riemenschneider is the most famous German sculptor of the late Gothic period. From his workshop in Wurzburg he produced sculpture for local patrons as well as for those in distant cities. Because of his sympathy for the peasants in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1525, he was imprisoned; although he as released within a year, he afterward produced very little work.
Successful though he was, Riemenschneider’s work represented the continuation of what was increasingly seen as an old-fashioned style. His sculpture presents a curious mixture of old and new elements. At a time when the Italian Renaissance was beginning to influence northern artists, Riemenschneider continued to use the artistic vocabulary of the late Gothic. His figures are spiritualized - tall, slender, almost weightless. Riemenschneider broke with Germanic tradition, however, in leaving his finished works unpainted, as the Italians were doing. Northern taste was not ready for this departure from convention and during Riemenschneider’s own lifetime his patrons often had his sculpture painted by other artists.
