Altarpiece of St Nicolai church Döbeln [outer movable wing, left]: St Eramus [recto], St Nicholas throws a piece of gold into a poor man's window [verso top], St Nicholas pours oil into the sea [verso bottom]

Title

[cda 2015]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[cda 2015]

The recto depicts St Erasmus wearing vestments as a full-length figure. In his left hand he holds his intestines wrapped around a spindle as a symbol of his martyrdom. Beyond a low wall behind him there is a view of an expansive landscape. The image has a half-rounded top above which are ornamental tendrils. Emulating the carved figures in the central shrine the artist represents the figure like a statue standing on a podest. Similar depictions of two popes as well as St Valentine belong to the iconographic program of the first opening state.

The verso of the wing panel shows two scenes from the Life of St Nicholas. These belong to a series of four episodes from the Act of the Saint, that together with four other illustrations of the Life of another archetype of faith are visible when the altarpiece is closed. In the upper field the saint throws lumps of gold through the window of a father to save his daughter from prostitution. The father is visible listening at the door, as is the sleeping daughter. The lower field shows St Nicholas on the high seas. He has commanded that barrels of oil intended for an advanced payment, which were transported under a false pretext be thrown into the sea. Blazing flames betray the danger posed by the barrels.

[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 x 116.8 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support including frame: 282 x 116.8 cm
[cda 2015]

Signature / Dating: None

Owner: Ev.-Luth. Kirchengemeinde Döbeln
Repository: St. Nicolaikirche Döbeln
Location: Döbeln

CDA ID: DE_ND_ND001d
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_ND_ND001d/

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

Heydenreich 2021 B

59, 69

Author	Gunnar Heydenreich
Title	Hans Kemmer: Spuren künstlerischer Gestaltungsprozesse. Teil II: Wittenberg
Publication	in Dagmar Täube, ed., Lucas Cranach der Ältere und Hans Kemmer. Meistermaler zwischen Renaissance und Reformation [Lübeck, St. Annen-Museum]
Place of Publication	Munich
Year of Publication	2021
Pages	59-69

Show Literature

Exhib. Cat. Eisenach 1998

237

Editor	Wartburg-Stiftung, Eisenach, Fachhochschule , Ingo Sandner
Title	Unsichtbare 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 Publication	Regensburg
Year of Publication	1998
Pages	229-240

Show Literature

Sandner, Ritschel 1994

188, 190

Figs. A124, A125

Author	Ingo Sandner, Iris Ritschel
Title	Arbeitsweise und Maltechnik Lucas Cranachs und seiner Werkstatt
Publication	in Claus Grimm, Johannes Erichsen, Evamaria Brockhoff, eds., Lucas Cranach. Ein Maler-Unternehmer aus Franken, Exhib. Cat. Kronach 1994
Series	Veröffentlichungen zur bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur
Volume	26
Place of Publication	Augsburg, Coburg
Year of Publication	1994
Pages	186-193

Show Literature

Sandner 1993

101, 143-146

21, 22a-b, 23a-d

Author	Ingo Sandner
Title	Spätgotische Tafelmalerei in Sachsen
Place of Publication	Dresden, Basel
Year of Publication	1993

Show Literature

Gurlitt 1903

20-22

Author	Cornelius Gurlitt
Title	Beschreibende Darstellung der älteren Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Königreichs Sachsen, 25. Heft: Amtshauptmannschaft Döbeln
Place of Publication	Dresden
Year of Publication	1903

Show Literature

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 Gregory 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]

Connected Works

Altarpiece of St Nicolai church Döbeln [outer movable wing, left]: St Eramus [recto], St Nicholas throws a piece of gold into a poor man's window [verso top], St Nicholas pours oil into the sea [verso bottom], about 1515 - 1516

Images

Technical studies

04. 2012Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Infrared reflectography

Underdrawing

St Erasmus [recto]

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- the first rough design was executed with a hard drawing implement, chalk?; followed by a fluid, black drawing medium and brushes

Typ/Duktus:

- relatively detailed and freehand underdrawing

- thin to broader lines

- fine hatching-strokes (in the heads)

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; the lines delineate the main contours and describe the forms within shapes and the facial features; volume is represented in the faces with hatching-strokes

Deviations:

- minor adjustments were made to forms during the painting process; small changes

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Master of the Döbeln Highaltar (Valentin Elner?)

Nicolaus throws a lump of gold through the window of the needy [verso, top]

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- fluid, black drawing, brushes

Type/Ductus:

- loose and freehand underdrawing

- thin to broader lines

Function:

- only roughly binding for the final painted version; the lines delineate the main contours and describe the forms within shapes and the facial features; no representation of volume with hatching-strokes

Deviations:

- forms were adjusted and reworked during the painting process; numerous smaller and larger changes

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Master of the Döbeln Highaltar (Valentin Elner?)

Nicolaus orders that the oil be poured into the sea [verso bottom]

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- fluid, black drawing medium, brushes

Type/Ductus:

- loose and freehand underdrawing

- thin to broader lines

Function:

- only roughly binding for the final painted version; the lines delineate the main contours and describe the forms within shapes and some facial features; no representation of volume with hatching-strokes

Deviations:

- forms were adjusted and reworked during the painting process; numerous changes

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Master of the Döbeln Highaltar (Valentin Elner?)

[Sandner, Smith-Contini, Heydenreich, cda 2016]

photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
photographed by Ingo Sandner

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 [outer movable wing, left]: St Eramus [recto], St Nicholas throws a piece of gold…', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_ND_ND001d/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'Altarpiece of St Nicolai church Döbeln [outer movable wing, left]: St Eramus [recto], St Nicholas throws a piece of gold…', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_ND_ND001d/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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