Retable of Issenheim

The retable of Issenheim (or of Isenheim ), devoted to holy Antoine, comes from the convent of the Antonins to Issenheim, in the south of Colmar, where it decorated the high altar of the church of the commandery. It east is the work of two large Masters of the late Gothique: the German painter Matthias Grünewald, of which it constitutes the masterpiece incontestably, for the painted panels (1512 - 1516) and Nicolas de Haguenau for the carved part (around 1500).

The retable consists of a whole of several painted panels which are articulated around a central case made up of sculptures.

This splendid and monumental polyptyque is today with Colmar, with the Musée of Unterlinden of which it is undoubtedly the showpiece and who owes him his international repute. It is exposed in the vault, where all was done by the persons in charge of the museum for his development.

The Retable of Issenheim comprises scenes of a not very common, and completely exceptional dramatic intensity for its time. The fantastic one is not excluded from it - what would bring closer Grünewald to Jerome Bosch - nor a Maniérisme which makes this artist an isolated and almost unclassable genius.

Work

Preamble: the Order of Antonins

The order of the Antonins was founded towards 1070 with Saint-Antoine-in-Viennese, small village of the Dauphiné located between Valence and Grenoble. It is about an order “begging” which has the role to look after and to assist the patients. The monks devoted themselves at that time to an affection which was spread quickly, poisoning by the Ergot of rye. This poisoning by a microscopic mushroom attacking cereal caused terrible pains with the patients who were affected of what one called then burning the “Mal” (gangreneux ergotism). The goal about Antonins was thus to deal with the many patients to bring to them the cure by the protection of the “Large holy Antoine”. They also intervened when the populations were decimated by epidemics of Black Death.

The monastery of Antonins d' Issenheim was located on an old Roman way carrying out of the Germanic countries, by Basle, towards the traditional places of pilgrimage of the Moyen-âge, Rome and Saint Jacques de Compostelle: many were the pilgrims and travellers who passed there. It is for its hospital that was ordered and carried out the retable. The patients were brought there to the beginning of their assumption of responsibility, and it was hoped that holy Antoine could intercede to obtain a miracle in their favor, or at least which they would find comfort and consolation by the contemplation of the scenes which were represented there. According to the representation of the Middle Ages, the images of meditation are “quasi-medicine”.

History of realization of the retable of Issenheim

The cloister of Issenheim had already a retable, called “ retable Orliaco ”. This retable closed watch on the two wings the scene of the Annunciation. On the left wing the Archange Gabriel is and on the line Marie. Opened, one can see on the left wing how Marie encense the baby and on the line saint Antoine and Jean d' Oliaco (the vice-chancellor of the cloister at the time of the realization of the retable). Martin Schongauer had painted, in 1475, these four people at the request of the vice-chancellor of the cloister. Opened, the wings of the “Oliaco retable” frame a sculpture of the Blessed Virgin life size. This part is now with the Louvre. In 1485, Orliaco orders at Nicolas de Haguenau the creation of a sculpture for a retable. The historian of Zierman arts shows, that it was probably created, because one found, at this time, the retable of already obsolete Orliaco.

One does not know at which exact moment Grünewald accepted the ordering of this work and, because of the lack of documents, one will not manage probably any more to clarify this date. The reason for which it is precisely Grünewald which accepted the ordering of the retable for this cloister located at the foot of the the Vosges remains also a enigma.

Design of the retable of Issenheim

The retable of Issenheim is a polyptyque retable on which the various shutters can open beings to illustrate the various liturgical periods during the worship at the time the corresponding festivals. The retable on the whole has three illustrated faces (Triptyque), whereas in theory of such retables had only two of them. In the center of the retable is a carved furnace bridge and the unit was overcome by a Gothic carved and gilded Meneau.

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