Altarpiece of St Nicolai church Döbeln [inner movable wing, left]: Holy Pope blessing

Altarpiece of St Nicolai church Döbeln [inner movable wing, left]: Holy Pope blessing

Title

Altarpiece of St Nicolai church Döbeln [inner movable wing, left]: Holy Pope blessing

[cda 2015]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[cda 2015]

A full-length depiction of a pope in vestments, carrying out an act of blessing with his right hand. Beyond a low wall behind him there is a view of an expansive landscape. The painting has a half-rounded top and is decorated above this with ornamental tendrils. Emulating the carved figures

A full-length depiction of a pope in vestments, carrying out an act of blessing with his right hand. Beyond a low wall behind him there is a view of an expansive landscape. The painting has a half-rounded top and is decorated above this with ornamental tendrils. Emulating the carved figures in the central shrine the artist has represented the figure as a statue, standing on a pedestal. Similar depictions of another pope as well as saints Erasmus and Valentine belong to the iconographic program of the first open state.

[cda 2015]

Attribution
Master of the Döbeln Altarpiece

Attribution

Master of the Döbeln Altarpiece

[cda 2012]
[Cat. Hamburg 1915, 10] [Sandner 1993, 101, 140] [1]
[1] [Cat. Hamburg 2007, No. 298]

Production date
about 1515 - 1516

Production date

about 1515 - 1516

[Sandner 1993, 53]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support including frame: 282.5 x 114.6 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support including frame: 282.5 x 114.6 cm

  • [cda 2015]

Signature / Dating

None

Owner
Ev.-Luth. Kirchengemeinde Döbeln
Repository
St. Nicolaikirche Döbeln
Location
Döbeln
CDA ID
DE_ND_ND001b
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_ND_ND001b/

Provenance

  • since its creation it has been located in the chancel of the church of St. Nicolai in Döbeln
    [cda 2015]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Eisenach 1998 237
EditorWartburg-Stiftung, Eisenach, Fachhochschule , Ingo Sandner
TitleUnsichtbare Meisterzeichnungen auf dem Malgrund. Cranach und seine Zeitgenossen. Ausstellungskatalog und Tagungsband Katalogteil 1; 2: Werkstatt und Schüler Cranachs; 3: Süddeutsche Meister; 4: Albrecht Dürer und sein Kreis; 5: Rheinische Meister
Place of PublicationRegensburg
Year of Publication1998
Pages229-240
Sandner, Ritschel 1994 188, 190 Figs. A124, A125
AuthorIngo Sandner, Iris Ritschel
TitleArbeitsweise und Maltechnik Lucas Cranachs und seiner Werkstatt
Publicationin Claus Grimm, Johannes Erichsen, Evamaria Brockhoff, eds., Lucas Cranach. Ein Maler-Unternehmer aus Franken, Exhib. Cat. Kronach 1994
SeriesVeröffentlichungen zur bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur
Volume26
Place of PublicationAugsburg, Coburg
Year of Publication1994
Pages186-193
Sandner 1993 101, 143-146 21, 22a-b, 23a-d
AuthorIngo Sandner
TitleSpätgotische Tafelmalerei in Sachsen
Place of PublicationDresden, Basel
Year of Publication1993
Gurlitt 1903 20-22
AuthorCornelius Gurlitt
TitleBeschreibende Darstellung der älteren Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Königreichs Sachsen, 25. Heft: Amtshauptmannschaft Döbeln
Place of PublicationDresden
Year of Publication1903

Research History / Discussion

The altarpiece is very elaborately decorated with carved branch tracery, and in addition to the carved screens numerous chamfers are also decorated. In the central shrine beneath a delicate baldachin of foliage the life-sized carved figure of St Nicholas with a crozier and the three pieces of gold on his book stands in the centre, on his left (from the viewer’s perspective) is St Leonhard with a crozier and a chain, and on the right St Wenzel in armour with a spear and shield. The frame is covered with foliage and two holy stand on each side figures representing the four Church Fathers: left Jerome and Augustine, right Gregor the Great and Ambrosius.

The wings are constructed in a similar manner: At the bottom quarter elegant columns carry an arched architectural element consisting of two segmental arches, within which the evangelists sit with their attributes at desks: left the evangelist John with the eagle and Matthew with the angel, right Mark with the lion and Luke with the bull. Above this beneath an artistic open worked frame are on the left the carved figure of the evangelist John (chalice of poison) and St Florian (armour and banner) as well as on the right Mary Magdalene (ointment jar) and St Barbara (tower). In the richly carved predella beneath a double arch there is a relief depicting the Death of the Virgin. Flanking the predella are the electoral coats of arms and the Döbeln city coat of arms with the three towers. Until 1885 beneath this or on the mensa there was a further predella with a representation of the Last Supper.

[http://www.kirchgemeinde-doebeln.de/index.php/nicolai/altar; accessed 11 Aug 2015]

  • Altarpiece of St Nicolai church Döbeln [inner movable wing, left]: Holy Pope blessing, about 1515 - 1516

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall

Conservation History

Date1999 - 2002

Treatment:

  • surface cleaning

  • consolidation of the paint layers

  • conservation of damages wood including identification and reattachment of broken elements, partial reconstruction of missing elements

  • concept developed to reconstruct the original coloration

  • original coatings uncovered on the carved elements and partially reintegrated with the later coatings

  • varnish removal on the painted panels

  • filling and retouching of losses in the paint layers

[http://anke-stenzel.de/referenzen/holzobjekte.htm; accessed 11 Aug 2015]

[http://www.kirchgemeinde-doebeln.de/index.php/nicolai/altar; accessed 11 Aug 2015]

  • conservation treatment by Anke Stenzel

Date1971 - 1975

Conservation treatment

[http://www.kirchgemeinde-doebeln.de/index.php/nicolai/altar; accessed 11 Aug 2015]

  • conservation treatment by Unknown

Date1918 - 1920

Conservation treatment

[http://www.kirchgemeinde-doebeln.de/index.php/nicolai/altar; accessed 11 Aug 2015]

  • conservation treatment by Unknown

Date1885 -

Conservation treatment, paint layers retouched

[Sandner 1993, 143]

  • conservation treatment by Unknown

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Altarpiece of St Nicolai church Döbeln [inner movable wing, left]: Holy Pope blessing', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_ND_ND001b/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Altarpiece of St Nicolai church Döbeln [inner movable wing, left]: Holy Pope blessing', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_ND_ND001b/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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