Tilman Riemenschneider
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
and woodcarver
Wood carving
Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object...
active in Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between late Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
and Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, a master in stone and limewood
Tilia
Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...
.
Biography
Heilbad Heiligenstadt
Heilbad Heiligenstadt is a spa town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Eichsfeld district.-Geography:Heiligenstadt is approximately 14 km east of the tripoint where the states of Thuringia, Hesse and Lower Saxony meet...
in the German province of Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
. When Riemenschneider was about five years old, his father lost his possessions and had to leave Heiligenstadt due to his involvement in a violent political conflict, the Mainzer Stiftsfehde. The family resettled in Osterode
Osterode am Harz
For the town in East Prussia formerly called Osterode, see Ostróda.Osterode am Harz often simply called Osterode, is a town in south-eastern Niedersachsen on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It is the seat of government of the district of Osterode. The town is twinned with Scarborough,...
, where Tilman's father became Master of the Mint (A good position at that time) and where Riemenschneider spent his childhood years.
Riemenschneider is said to have come to Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
for the first time at the age of 18, his Uncle served as notary and financial advisor to the Bishop there, but he did not stay for long at that time. Around 1473 Riemenschneider learned the trade of sculpting and woodcarving throughout the areas of Swabia and the upper Rhine - possibly in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
and Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
. At that time the statutes of the guild of sculptors required that an apprentice travel to many different workshops to gain experience. Very little is known about this period of his life but it is likely that he came in contact with the work of Martin Schongauer
Martin Schongauer
Martin Schongauer was a German engraver and painter. He was the most important German printmaker before Albrecht Dürer....
, whose copper engravings served him later as examples.
In 1483 he settled in Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
where, on December 7 of 1483, he joined the Saint Luke's Guild of painters, sculptors and glass workers as a painter's assistant. On February 28, 1485, he married Anna Schmidt, a widow of a master goldsmith with three sons. This marriage not only brought him property but it also meant that he could end his apprenticeship and become a master craftsman. She died, after nearly ten years of marriage, leaving him with a daughter. Tilman would marry another three times after this. While his successive wives were directing the large household, Tilman developed both the artistic and business side of his work. His earliest confirmed work is the Gravestone of Eberhard von Grumbach in the Pfarrkirche at Rimpar, this may be the type of work he started out with before obtaining large Church commissions. He started to receive numerous orders from the town councils of Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
and neighboring towns. The earliest large work attributed to him is the Franziskusaltar in the St Jakobskirche in Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken , the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City...
which is described in the church guide book as 'about 1490', but its style compared to other works of that date is rather primitive, suggesting it may be an earlier work. The town council of Münnerstadt ordered in 1490 an altarpiece for the altar of St Maria Magdalena, the parish church, which included a carving of St Mary Magdalene with Six Angels. In 1491, the town council of Würzburg ordered two life-size stone figures of Adam and Eve for the south portal of the council’s church, the Marienkapelle.
In 1494 his first wife died, leaving him with three stepsons and a daughter. In keeping with the times and his status he remarried in 1497, his second wife bore him two daughters and three sons, all of whom seem to have inherited their fathers artistic talent. In 1495, he created the statue of Mary with child which resides in the Pfarrkirche St Bernard in Würzburg. The writer Herman Hesse described it as follows:
"Dreamily she gazes out from her glass case, far away from our world... in her gracefulness and distinction she is refined to a degree of perfunction far above that of mankind today"
By 1500, he had developed an outstanding reputation as an artist and had become a wealthy Würzburg citizen. Not only did he own a number of houses but he also was a landowner with his own vineyards. His flourishing workshop provided work for as many as forty apprentices doing woodcarving, sculpting and painting. In November of 1504, Riemenschneider became councilman of the city of Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, an office he would fulfill for the next twenty years. This office not only brought him social status but it also helped him obtain many large and profitable orders. Between 1520 and 1524 he even was Mayor of Würzburg.
During the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
, the city council formed an alliance with peasants who were in revolt across Germany and came into conflict with Konrad von Thüngen, the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, whose residence, the Marienberg
Fortress Marienberg
Fortress Marienberg is a prominent landmark on the Main river in Würzburg, Germany. The mighty Fortress Marienberg is the symbol of Würzburg and served as a home of the prince-bishops for nearly five centuries. It has been a fort since ancient times...
fortress, overlooks the city. On June 4 of 1525, the peasant's army was destroyed, with 8,000 killed, just outside Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
by the troops of Georg, Steward of Waldburg-Zeil and the Bishop. After the city surrendered, the full city council, including Riemenschneider, was incarcerated and tortured in the Marienberg citadel. According to legend, both of his hands were broken during the torturing, which ended his artistic career. Together with the rest of the council, Tilman was set free after two months, with loss of most of his property. He received no more major orders and, until his death in 1531 at Würzburg, led a retired life with his fourth wife. His son Jörg from his second marriage continued the workshop after his death.
Art
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
style, although his later work show mannerism
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
characteristics. His work is characterized by the expressiveness of their faces (often shown with an inward look, as in the self-portrait) and by their detailed and richly folded clothing. The emphasis on expression of inner emotions sets Riemenschneider's work apart from that of his immediate predecessors. Souren Melikian places his best work, such as the Virgin listening to the Annunciation, in the same league as the oil paintings of Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
. Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation...
views the Riemenscheider figures as showing the serious personal piety in Germany in the late fifteenth century and as harbingers of the coming Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. Among his successors and/or pupils were Peter Breuer and Philipp Koch.
Major works
Fortress Marienberg
Fortress Marienberg is a prominent landmark on the Main river in Würzburg, Germany. The mighty Fortress Marienberg is the symbol of Würzburg and served as a home of the prince-bishops for nearly five centuries. It has been a fort since ancient times...
citadel in Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
.
- Hassenbacher Vesperbild church of Hassenbach, around 1490, wood.
- Altar of the Farewell of the Apostles Kleinschwarzenlohe near NurembergNurembergNuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, Allerheiligenkirche, 1491. - Altar Piece, Maria Magdalena MünnerstadtMünnerstadtMünnerstadt is a town in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Germany. It borders with the towns of Burglauer, Bad Bocklet, Nüdlingen, Maßbach, Großbardorf, and Strahlungen. As of 2000 it has a population of 8,300, and covers an area of 95 km²....
, 1490/92. - Adam and Eve WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, Mainfränkisches Museum, 1491/93 - Sculpture of Bishop Rudolf von ScherenbergRudolf von ScherenbergRudolf II von Scherenberg was Bishop of Würzburg from 1466 until his death.Rudolf von Scherenberg was the son of Erhard von Scherenberg and Anna von Massbach. On April 30, 1466, he was appointed as bishop to replace Johann von Grumbach. He was confirmed as bishop on June 20, 1466...
, Würzburg CathedralWürzburg CathedralWürzburg Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg...
, 1496/99. - Emperor's Tomb Cathedral of BambergBambergBamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
, 1499/1513. - Mary Salome and ZebedeeMary Salome and ZebedeeMary Salome and Zebedee by Tilman Riemenschneider originally formed the right wing of an altarpiece showing the family of the Virgin Mary. The central scene would have shown St Anne seated with her daughter Mary and the Christ Child. Mary Salome was another daughter of St Anne, half sister of the...
WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
1501-5 now in the Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert MuseumThe Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, London - Saint Anne and her three husbands MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, 1505/1510, wood. - Grieving Maria WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, Mainfränkisches Museum, around 1505. - Altar of Maria, CreglingenCreglingenCreglingen is a town in the Main-Tauber district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Celts who founded the town between 200 and 100 B.C. also farmed the surrounding plateaus and valleys...
, around 1505/08, wood. - Altar of the Apostles, Altar of the Church Fathers, and Altar of the Annunciation, Carving of St. Kilian, Crucifix, epithet of Hans von Bibra St.Leo church, Bibra near Meiningen, around 1500, wood except epithet.
- Crucifixion St.Nikolas church in Eisingen, BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, 1500 - 1505. - Holy Blood Altar Jakobskirche, Rothenburg ob der TauberRothenburg ob der TauberRothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken , the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City...
, 1501–1505, wood. - Altar of the Apostles, St.-Kilians-Kirche zu Windsheim, 1509, now in the Kurpfälzisches MuseumKurpfälzisches MuseumThe Kurpfälzisches Museum is a museum of art and archaeology in Heidelberg, Germany. It is located in the Palais Morass. It was founded in the late 1870s, when the city of Heidelberg purchased the private collection of the artist and art historian Charles de...
, HeidelbergHeidelberg-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
. - Crucifixion Altar church of Detwang, 1510/13, now in the Kurpfälzisches Museum, HeidelbergHeidelberg-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
- Tomb of Bishop Lorenz of Bibra Cathedral of WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, 1520/22 - Madonna of the Rosary, Pilgrim's church of Weinbergen, near VolkachVolkachVolkach is a town in the district of Kitzingen in the Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken in Bavaria. The town was founded in 906 AD.Volkach's main tourist attraction is its annual wine festival. Volkach's wine festival is the culminating festival for the entire Franken wine region.-External links:*...
, around 1521/24. - The Grieving for Christ (Klosterkirche), 1525, Maidbronn near WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
- The Assumption of the Virgin center panel of the Creglingen Altarpiece, Herrgottskirche, CreglingenCreglingenCreglingen is a town in the Main-Tauber district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Celts who founded the town between 200 and 100 B.C. also farmed the surrounding plateaus and valleys...
, Germany 1495-1499
Literature
The character Goldmund in the book Narcissus and GoldmundNarcissus and Goldmund
Narcissus and Goldmund is a novel written by the German-Swiss author Hermann Hesse which was first published in German as Narziß und Goldmund in 1930...
by Hermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature...
serves as an apprentice with a master sculptor who is socially prominent in the town where he worked and whose character appears to be loosely based on that of Riemenschneider. He serves both as an artistic inspiration for Goldmund and as a foil for the less restrained temperament of Goldmund.
The plot of Elizabeth Peters's first Vicky Bliss mystery novel, "Borrower of the Night" (1973) centers around the search for a missing Riemenschneider sculpture. Most of the action takes place in Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken , the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City...
.
External links
- Mainfränkisches Museum, Würzburg
- Grove Art Online, Tilman Riemenschneider
- National Gallery of Art exhibit: Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages
- The Web Gallery of Art
- Alabaster Annunciation at the RijksmuseumRijksmuseumThe Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or simply Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art...
, AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... - Virgin and Child at the Spencer Museum of ArtSpencer Museum of ArtThe Spencer Museum of Art, or SMA, is an art museum on the campus of University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. While admission is free, donations are accepted. Also located inside the Spencer Museum of Art are the Kress Foundation Department of Art History, and the Murphy Library of Art &...
, University of KansasUniversity of KansasThe University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, Lawrence, KansasLawrence, KansasLawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
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