1003 - Tilman Riemenschneider, Umkreis

Tilman Riemenschneider, Umkreis Tilman Riemenschneider, circle of A relief with the Entombment by an sculptor from the circle of Tilman Riemenschneider. Limewood, with minimal remains of former polychromy. Relief with five figures, partially carved in the round, depicted behind a sarcophagus beside it in full length, laying the deceased upon it with the aid of a shroud. Earlier insect damage, shrinkage cracks and minor losses, professionally restored in 2016 (expertise available), the original head on the left missing. Height 50.5; width 75.5 cm. Provenance Formerly on permanent loan at the MAD Museum am Dom, Würzburg. - For several generations in the possession of a Franconian family. . Exhibitions Gegenstück. Spannungsbogen Kunst, Museum am Dom, Würzburg, 2017. - Riemenschneider X Stoß – Schnittpunkt Münnerstadt, Museum am Dom, Würzburg, 2019/2020. Literature H. R. Albert, ‘The depiction of St Vitus at the “Hofbauer” in Wülfershausen poses a number of puzzles’, in: Das Grabfeld 12/October 2004. - For the subject, cf. H. Simon, Die frühneuzeitlichen Beweinungsgruppen von Tilman Riemenschneider, in: Exhib.-cat. Tilman Riemenschneider – Werke seiner Glaubenswelt, Regensburg, 2004, pp. 85 ff. - Cf. also Schneider, Altaria deren seind drey. Visitationsberichte als Quellen, in: ibid., pp. 69ff., fig. 38. This important Late Gothic Entombment group has been associated with Tilman Riemenschneider. Only one other Entombment from his workshop is likewise under discussion. It is located in the Chapel of St Anthony in Großlangheim. Riemenschneider’s preferred subject was the Lamentation. In addition to the Vesperbilder, multi-figure Lamentations can be found in Hessenthal, in the Catholic Parish Church Foundation of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (c. 1490); in Heidingsfeld, in the Parish Church of St Lawrence (c. 1508); in Großostheim, in the Parish Church of St Peter and Paul (c. 1515); and in Maidbronn, the important altarpiece in the Curacy Church of St Afra (c. 1515-1519). Multi-figure Entombments arranged in a similar composition have been known since the early 15th century (e.g. Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Master of the Small Passion, c. 1420). Typically, the body of Christ is held at the head and feet by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, while Mary, John and Mary Magdalene stand behind the sarcophagus. What distinguishes this Entombment is the presentation of Christ. His body is turned to one side, visible to the viewer from head to toe; his front hand rests on his hip, while his rear forearm, with its limp hand, is supported by Mary, as is his head. This semi-upright, diagonal positioning of the upper body appears to present death for contemplation, while at the same time alluding to the Resurrection. The finely folded shroud on which the body lies carries a similar connotation. Only Mary's hands touch Jesus directly. The cloth separates and envelops his body, alluding to the later Eucharist, the transformation of bread into the body of Jesus, which is presented here as if upon an altar. In the Entombment from Großlangheim, the lower leg is covered by the cloth, the figure assisting on the left is missing, and the figure on the right has been positioned slightly differently. The relief is incorporated into the right-hand side of the high altar, backed by a large painted and gilded drapery. Despite the almost identical composition and similar dimensions, the effect is different, not least because of the overpainted polychromy, which has been removed from the Entombment presented here. Reinhold Albert, the heritage and archives officer for the Rhön-Grabfeld district, believes it is possible that the relief presented here came into the possession of a farming family from Wülfershausen following the secularisation and dissolution of the Cistercian Abbey of Maria Bildhausen in 1803. The monastery church at Bildhausen is situated near Münnerstadt, a town where the two most famous sculptors of the German Late Gothic period were active: Tilman Riemenschneider and Veit Stoß. In 1490, Tilman Riemenschneider was commissioned to create an altarpiece for the parish church of St Mary Magdalene. The completed work was delivered and installed in 1492. Veit Stoß was staying with his daughter in Münnerstadt around 1504/05 when the town council approached him to paint the sculptures and produce four panel paintings, also for the town’s parish church. The relief presented here was part of the exhibition in 2019/2020 that honoured the work of both sculptors.