Altarpiece Art
Christian Decorative Art: Religious Altarpieces.
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Altarpiece Art |
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DIFFERENT FORMS OF ARTS WHAT IS ART? |
Altarpiece Art (c.1000-1700)Contents • Introduction One of the highpoints of Christian decorative art during the Late Gothic, Italian Renaissance, Northern Renaissance, and Counter-Reformation periods, was the altarpiece. This form of religious art typically consists of one or more paintings, or sculptures (stone or wood-carvings) carved in the round or in relief, or simply a screen or decorated wall. It can stand on, above or behind the altar. Historically, most altarpieces date from about 1000 CE onwards, when the shrine was relocated to make the altar the focal point of the church. Altar panel-paintings only became common in the 15th century; they were created using either oil paint or egg tempera, on wooden panels. Altarpiece iconography is usually Biblical, typically featuring Saints and members of the Holy Family. |
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There are two basic types of altarpiece. (1) The reredos, a large and often elaborate construction in wood or stone, typically rising from the floor behind the altar. Examples include: St Mary, Krakow (1477-89) carved by Veit Stoss; St Jakob Kirche, Rothenburg (1499-1504) carved by Tilman Riemenschneider. (2) The retable - a simpler structure featuring relief sculpture or painted panels, standing at the back of the altar itself, or on a surface behind it. Examples include: The Ghent Altarpiece (1432) Saint Bavo Cathedral, by Hubert and Jan van Eyck; The Isenheim Altarpiece (1506-15) Monastery of St. Anthony, by Matthias Grunewald; and the Pala d'Oro, Basilica di San Marco, Venice. Lastly, some altarpieces were painted on canvas/panel and fixed to the altar wall, like Raphael's Sistine Madonna (1515, Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden) which was designed for the high altar of the Benedictine abbey church of San Sisto (St. Sixtus) in Piacenza, and his Transfiguration (1518-20) intended originally for the French Cathedral of Narbonne. The Madonna of the Harpies (1517) painted by Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530) for the high altar of San Francesco de'Macci in Florence, is another example, as is Titian's extraordinary Assumption of the Virgin (1516-18) which can still be seen in the church of Saint Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice. Most Retables of painted panels were either in triptych form (3-panels), or polyptych form (more than 3 panels). The 2-panel variety, known as a diptych was typically created for personal veneration, rather than public worship. |
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Triptychs were a popular format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards (c.1000 CE). Consisting of a central panel and two hinged "wings", they were installed in Eastern Orthodox as well as Western Christian churches. From the 15th century onwards, non-church triptychs were popular with Netherlandish Renaissance painters such as Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch, while modern exponents have included Francis Bacon (see: Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, 1944), among others. Famous Triptych Altarpieces • Seilern
(Entombment) Triptych (1410) by Robert
Campin Polyptychs were hinged altarpieces with more than 3 panels. They usually have one large central panel, to which a number of "side" panels, or "wing panels" are attached. This form of altarpiece was especially common in Early Renaissance churches and cathedrals. Famous Polyptych Altarpieces • Maesta
Altarpiece (1311) by Duccio di Buoninsegna Note: Polyptych altarpieces include: tetraptychs (4 panels); pentaptychs (5 panels); hexaptychs (6 panels); heptaptychs (7 panels); octaptychs (8 panels). Made from about 1200 CE onwards, typically for personal rather than public use, a diptych has 2 hinged panels that fold together. These personal diptychs are also known as "travelling icons". Diptychs were popular in early Flemish painting among artists like Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Memling and Hugo van der Goes; subjects included secular portraiture as well as portraits of the Holy Family and scenes from the Bible. One particularly famous example is the Melun Diptych (1450-55), by Jean Fouquet. A modern example of the format is Marilyn Diptych (1964) by Andy Warhol. |
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• For details of major movements of
painting and sculpture, see: History of
Art.
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