Epitaph-altarpiece of Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous in the Weimar parish church St. Peter and Paul [central panel]

The composition of the central panel of the Weimar altarpiece is dominated by the representation of Christ on the cross. The crucifixion is positioned in the centre foreground and divides the image in two halves. The first pictorial plane is occupied by four figures depicted in a meadow full of flowers. On the left Christ is shown triumphing over Death and the Devil who lie on the ground under his feet. As a sign of his victory and resurrection he wears the red robe and its violent motion directs the viewer's gaze back to the cross. He thrusts an almost transparent victory banner into the Devil's throat while looking at the viewer. Behind the figure of the resurrected Christ the burial cave is visible in a rocky outcrop in front of which is an open marble sarcophagus. The red of Christ's robe is repeated in the group of figures to the right of the cross. The group consists of St John the Baptist, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Martin Luther positioned one in front of the other. Luther stands in the foreground and his imposing stature is further emphasized by his firm stance and his broad gown. The black robe highlights the light pages of the open book, which Luther points to with the finger of his right hand and holds up for the viewer to read. Half concealed by Luther, Cranach stands clothed in a fur-trimmed black robe, wearing the same beige leggings as Luther. His hands are folded and his hair and beard betray his advanced years. His head has been hit by the blood streaming from the wound in Christ¿s side. The artist stares out of the painting. Behind Cranach St John the Baptist is depicted in a fur robe and red cloak. Facing right he points with the finger of his right hand at the crucified Christ and with two fingers from his left hand he points to the sacrificial lamb, standing directly in front of the cross and once again directs the viewer¿s gaze to the cross in the centre. The lamb raises his head as if he were responding to St John¿s gesture. Like the resurrected Christ he also holds a transparent victory banner. The inscription: `ECCE AGNVS DEI QVI TOLLIT PECCATA MVNDI¿ is visible against the background of the red robe of Christ in triumph. Both banners are arranged almost parallel to each other; the lamb prevents the banner from falling over with his raised front leg. The foot of the cross is hidden by the Agnus Dei.

The cross consists of two roughly hewn wooden beams attached together to form a Greek T, and it extends to the top edge of the painting, where it is crowned with the letters INRI¿. Christ is attached to the cross with three nails. His head is inclined to the left and his eyes appear closed, blood beneath the crown of thorns runs down his neck. Streams of blood also run from the wounds in his hands along his thin, elongated arms and occasionally run together with the blood from the wound in his side to continue down to the wounds in his feet and drip onto the wood of the cross. The date 1555¿ over the artist¿s insignia is located on the cross below Christ¿s feet. Both ends of the loincloth flutter to either side in a very artificial manner and the white of the cloth both emphasizes the stream of blood and serves as a backdrop for it. The blood creates a wide arch as if drawn with a compass from the wound on Christ¿s side to pour down on Cranach¿s head.

Two scenes are visible in the middle-distance at about the height of the feet of the crucified Christ and are separated by the cross. On the left a bearded man clothed in a loincloth flees gesticulating from the skeletons and the Devil, who are armed with spits and clubs, and appear here for the second time. They drive him towards the purgatorial fire, which blazes up behind the rocky outcrop with Christ¿s burial cave. The path followed by the hunt is circular and if followed with the eye leads to a group of men to the right of the cross, who appear to be deep in conversation. Beneath them Moses is depicted pointing with the finger of his right hand on the stone tablet, which he holds in his left hand. Beside him an old man in an ermine trimmed coat raises two fingers from his right hand. Both scenes have a wooded backdrop that merges with the background of the painting.

The Israelites raising the bronze serpent are depicted in a campsite on the right side above the heads of Cranach and Luther. Moses, who is identified by his clothing, points with a rod at the serpent on the T-shaped cross. Some of the men, women and children follow his advice and save themselves by looking at the serpent with hands raised in prayer or by falling on their knees others have already been bitten. On the right edge of the painting a serpent winds itself around the neck of an Israelite, while another slithers towards him. The gestures of this figure are similar to those of the figure fleeing from Death and the Devil in the middle distance.

In a clearing of the above mentioned wood, which extends as far as the middle ground a further biblical scene is depicted on the horizon: the Annunciation to the Shepherds. Like the Israelites the shepherds look up, raise their hands or fall on their knees in the presence of the angel, who descends from heaven in a cloud, carrying a banner. The clouds in the sky, occupying a third of the painting, are illuminated by the sun, which appears to rise behind the burial cave of the risen Christ.

The essentially subdued, earthy tonality of the central panel of the Weimar altarpiece is repeatedly interrupted and contrasted by the use of red paint. This is particularly obvious in the group on the left in the foreground. The rocky outcrop, the sarcophagus and the figures of Death and the Devil share the same brownish yellow tone, which emphasizes the relatively pale flesh paint in the figure of Christ and above all his bright red robe. This bright red serves as a reference point for the viewer as it is repeated in each scene of the painting, relating them through colour. Apart from the red blood of Christ the colour is used for the cloaks of both Christ and St John, Luther¿s collar, the Devil¿s foot in the middle ground, the coat and the leggings in the group of prophets, the clothing of the Israelites and the shepherds as well as the angels¿ robes.

Repeated and varied motifs are frequently employed as a compositional element to establish close relationships between different pictorial planes: the motif of Death and the Devil links the left side of the foreground with the middle ground. Parallel to this the right side of the foreground and the middle ground are linked by the finger pointing to the Word or Christ. A relationship is established between Christ in the foreground and the naked figure of the man being hunted through the loincloth worn by both figures. The middle ground and the background are linked by the double appearance of Moses and the repetition of the gestures of the figures being chased by the Israelites fleeing from the serpents. Furthermore the scenes of the Israelites and the shepherds of the annunciation in the background are related by the repeated pose and the same T-shaped cross, which also links the background with the foreground.

[Görres 2006, 7-10]