Stefan Lochner (the ''Dombild Master'' or ''Master Stefan''; c. 1410 – late 1451) was a German painter working in the late

International Gothic International Gothic is a period of Gothic art which began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by th ...

period. His paintings combine that era's tendency toward long flowing lines and brilliant colours with the

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

, virtuoso surface textures and innovative

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

of the early

Northern Renaissance The Northern Renaissance was the Renaissance that occurred in Europe north of the Alps. From the last years of the 15th century, its Renaissance spread around Europe. Called the Northern Renaissance because it occurred north of the Italian Renais ...

. Based in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, a commercial and artistic hub of northern Europe, Lochner was one of the most important German painters before

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

. Extant works include single-panel oil paintings, devotional

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a painting (usually panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Specifically, a "diptych" is a two-part work of art; a "triptych" is a three-part work; a tetrapty ...

s and

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

s, which often feature fanciful and blue-winged angels. Today some thirty-seven individual panels are attributed to him with confidence.Chapuis, 103 Less is known of his life. Art historians associating the Dombild Altarpiece master with the historical Stefan Lochner believe he was born in Meersburg in south-west Germany around 1410, and that he spent some of his apprenticeship in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. Records further indicate that his career developed quickly but was cut short by an early death. We know that he was commissioned around 1442 by the Cologne council to provide decorations for the visit of Emperor Frederick III, a major occasion for the city. Records from the following years indicate growing wealth and the purchase of a number of properties around the city. Thereafter he seems to have over-extended his finances and fallen into debt.

Plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

hit Cologne in 1451 and there, apart from the records of creditors, mention of Stephan Lochner ends; it is presumed he died that year, aged around 40. Stefan Lochner Altar of the Magi

Lochner's identity and reputation were lost until a revival of 15th-century art during the early 19th-century romantic period. Despite extensive historical research, attribution remains difficult; for centuries a number of associated works were grouped and loosely attributed to the Dombild Master, a

notname In art history, a ''Notname'' (, "necessity-name" or "contingency-name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled, or generically title ...

taken from the ''Dombild Altarpiece'' (in English ''cathedral picture'', also known as the ''Altarpiece of the City's Patron Saints'') still in

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of ...

. One of Dürer's diary entries became key, 400 years later, in the 20th-century establishment of Lochner's identity. Only two attributed works are dated, and none are signed.Corley, 78 His influence on successive generations of northern artists was substantial. Apart from the many direct copies made in the later 15th century, echoes of his panels can be seen in works by

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

and

Hans Memling Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; c. 1430 – 11 August 1494) was a painter active in Flanders, who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. He was born in the Middle Rhine region and probably spent his childhood in Mainz. He ...

. Lochner's work was praised by

Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel (; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German poet, literary critic, philosopher, philologist, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figure ...

and

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

for its qualities, especially the "sweetness and grace" of his Madonnas.Borchert, 249

Identity and attribution

There are no signed paintings by Lochner, and his identity was not established until the 19th century. J. F. Böhmer in an 1823 article identified the ''Dombild'' (meaning "Cathedral picture") or ''Altarpiece of the City's Patron Saints'' with a work mentioned in an account of a visit to Cologne in 1520 in the diary of

. The notoriously thrifty artist paid 5 silver

pfennig The 'pfennig' (; . 'pfennigs' or ; symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former German coin or note, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, i ...

Chapuis, 28 to see an altarpiece by "Maister Steffan" some seventy years after Lochner's death. Although Dürer fails to mention specifically which of Maister Steffan's panels he had seen,Wolfson, 229–235 his description matches exactly the centre panel of the ''Dombild Altarpiece''. The altarpiece is referred to in a number of other records. It was repaired and re- gilded in 1568, and mentioned in

Georg Braun Georg Braun (also ''Brunus, Bruin''; 1541 – 10 March 1622) was a German topo-geographer. From 1572 to 1617, he edited the ''Civitates orbis terrarum,'' which contains 546 prospects, bird's-eye views and maps of cities from all around the ...

's ''Civitates Orbis Terrarum'' in 1572.Chapuis, 37 German Gothic art underwent a revival in the early 19th-century Romantic period when the work was seen as a climax of the late Gothic period. The German philosopher and critic

was instrumental in reviving Lochner's reputation. He wrote lengthy tracts comparing the ''Dombild'' favourably to the work of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

, and believed it exceeded anything by van Eyck, Dürer or

Holbein Hans Holbein may refer to: * Hans Holbein the Elder Hans Holbein the Elder ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Ältere; – 1524) was a German painter. Life Holbein was born in free imperial city of Augsburg (Germany), and died in Issenheim, Alsa ...

.Chapuis, 14 Later,

was enthusiastic, emphasising Lochner's German "spirit and origin"; he described the Dombild as the "axis around which the ancient Netherlandish art resolves into the new". Stefan Lochner 007

Lochner's identity remained unknown for centuries, and no other known works were associated with the ''Dombild'' altarpiece. In 1816

Ferdinand Franz Wallraf Ferdinand Franz Wallraf (20 July 1748 - 18 March 1824) was a German botanist, mathematician, theologian, art collector and Roman Catholic priest. His collection formed the founding nucleus of the Wallraf–Richartz Museum. Biography He was the s ...

identified him as Philipp Kalf, based on a reading of a name inscribed on the cloth of a figure on the right of the centre panel. He misinterpreted markings on the stone floor pictured in ''

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

'' to read 1410, which he took as the year of completion.Chapuis, 16 Johann Dominicus Fiorillo discovered a 15th-century record that read "in 1380 there was an excellent painter in Cologne called Wilhelm, who had no equal in his art and who depicted human beings as if they were alive". In 1850 Johann Jakob Merlo identified "Maister Steffan" with the historical Stefan Lochner. In 1862,

Gustav Waagen Gustav Friedrich Waagen (11 February 1794 – 15 July 1868) was a German art historian. His opinions were greatly respected in England, where he was invited to give evidence before the royal commission inquiring into the condition and future o ...

became one of the first art historians to try to place Lochner's works in chronological order. His reasoning was based the assumption that Lochner developed from the early idealised forms usually associated with early 15th century Cologne, and later absorbed the techniques and realism of the Netherlandish painters. In this way, he placed the lighter "gaiety" of Lochner's Madonna paintings as from the beginning of his career, with the more stern and pessimistic crucifixions and doom panels at the end. Today, art historians believe the reverse to be true; the dramatic and innovative polyptychs came first, and the single Madonnas and panels of saints are from his mid-career. Based on their similarity to the ''Altar of the City Patrons'', art historians have attributed other paintings to Lochner, although a number have questioned whether the diary entry was authentically made by Dürer. Documentary evidence linking the paintings and miniatures with the historical Lochner has also been challenged, most notably by the art historian Michael Wolfson in 1996. In either case, the extent of Lochner's direct hand, as opposed to those of workshop members or followers, is debated.Chapuis, 261 Some panels formerly attributed to him are now thought to date from after 1451, the year of his death.Chilvers, 366

Life

The outline of the historical Stefan Lochner's life has been established from a small number of records, mostly relating to commissions, payments and property transfers.Chapuis, 293 There are no documents relating to his early life, a contributing factor being the loss of archival records from his supposed birthplace during the French occupation of Cologne.Chapuis, 26 The primary sources relating to Lochner's life are a June 1442 payment by the city of Cologne in relation to Friedrich's visit; deeds of 27 October 1442 and 28 August 1444 outlining the transfer of ownership of the house at Roggendorf; October 1444 deeds for the purchase of two houses in st Alban; his 24 June 1447 registration as a citizen of Cologne; his December 1447 election to the municipal council; his Christmas 1450 re-election to that post; an August 1451 correspondence with the city council; a 22 September 1451 announcement of the setting up of a plague graveyard next to his property, and finally, court records dated 7 January 1452 detailing the appropriation of his property.

Early life

Through threadbare clues and supposition, mostly centred around a relatively wealthy couple that perished during a

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

, believed to be his parents, Lochner is thought to have come from Meersburg, near

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

. Georg and Alhet Lochner were citizens and died there in 1451. A "Stefan" is referred to as "Stefan Lochner of Constance" in two documents dated 1444 and 1448.Chapuis, 27 However, there is no archival evidence that he was there, and his style bears no trace of the art in that region.Borchert, 248 There are no further records of him or his family in the town except for a mention of Lochners (a fairly uncommon name) in the village of

Hagnau Hagnau am Bodensee is a commune and a village in the district of Bodensee in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It lies on the north shore of Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at th ...

, two kilometers from Meersburg. However records indicate that Lochner's talent was recognised from an early age. He may have been of Netherlandish origin or worked there for a master, possibly

Robert Campin Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified with the Master of Flémalle (earlier the Master of the Merode Triptych, before the discovery of three other similar panels), was the first great master of Early Netherlandish paint ...

. Lochner's work seems influenced by

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...

and

; elements of their styles can be detected in the structure and colourisation of Lochner's mature works, especially in his ''Last Judgement'', although neither is thought to be the master with whom he studied.Borchert, 71

Move to Cologne and success

By the 1440s, Cologne was the largest and wealthiest city in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. It controlled and taxed the passage of trade from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, and became a financial, religious and artistic center. The city had a long tradition of producing high-quality visual art, and in the 14th century, its output was considered to be equal to that of Vienna and Prague. Cologne's artists concentrated on more personal and intimate subject matters, and the area became known for its production of small panels of "great lyrical charm and loveliness, which reflected the deep devotion of the writings of the

German mystic The Friends of God (German: Gottesfreunde; or gotesvriunde) was a medieval mystical group of both ecclesiastical and lay persons within the Catholic Church (though it nearly became a separate sect) and a center of German mysticism. It was founde ...

s".Wellesz, 3

During the 1430s, painting in Cologne had become conventional and somewhat old-fashioned, and still under the influence of the courtly style of the

Master of Saint Veronica The Master of Saint Veronica (active c. 1400 – 1420), was a German painter working in the International Gothic style. He was active in Cologne and is known for his religious works.Walther, 318 According to the art historian Emmy Wellesz, after Lochner's arrival "painting in Cologne became infused with a new life", perhaps enriched by the earlier exposure to the Netherlandish artists. He became widely celebrated as the most capable and modern painter in the city, where he was known as "Maister Steffan zu Cöln". Lochner first appears in extant records in 1442, nine years before he died.Chapuis, 103 He moved to Cologne where he received a commission from the city council for the provision of decorations for the visit of Emperor Frederick III. Lochner was seemingly well established and although other artists were involved in preparing for the event, he was responsible for the most important arrangements. The centrepiece seems to have been the ''Dombild Altarpiece'', described by modern art historians as "the most important commission of the fifteenth century in Cologne".Chapus, 156 He is recorded as having been paid forty

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

and ten shillings for his effort.Chapuis, 26 Lochner bought a house with his wife Lysbeth around 1442. Nothing else is known about her and the couple apparently had no children. In 1444 he acquired two larger properties, the "zome Carbunckel", near Saint Alban Church,Singer, 16 and the "zome Alden Gryne". Historians have speculated whether these acquisitions indicate a need to house a growing group of assistants due to his rising commercial success. It is likely that he lived in one house and worked in the other. The purchases may have caused a strain; in around 1447 he seems to have encountered financial difficulties, and he was forced to remortgage the homes. Second mortgages were taken out in 1448.

Plague and death

In 1447 the local painter's guild elected Lochner as their representative municipal councilor, or ''Ratsherr''. The appointment implies that he had lived in Cologne since at least 1437, as only those who had been living in the city for ten years could take up the position. He had not taken up citizenship immediately, possibly to avoid paying the 12

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...

fee. He was obliged to act as ''Ratsherr'', and on 24 June 1447, he became a

burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

of Cologne. The role of municipal councilor could only be held for a one-year term, with two years vacated before reoccupation. Lochner was re-elected for a second term in the winter of 1450–51 but died in office. There was an outbreak of plague in 1451, and there are no surviving records of him after Christmas of that year. On 16 August 1451 the council of Meersburg was informed by officials in Cologne that Lochner would be unable to attend to the will and estate of his parents, recently deceased. It is presumed he was by then already ill; plague was widespread in the area. On 22 September Saint Alban parish requested permission to burn victims in the lot next to his house there was no longer room in their cemetery. Lochner died sometime between this date and December 1451 when creditors took possession of his house.Wellesz, 2 Records from 1451 do not mention Lysbeth, who was presumably already dead.

Style

Lochner worked in the late

(''schöner Stil'') style, already considered dated and old-fashioned by the 1440s, yet is widely regarded as innovative. He introduced a number of progressions to painting in Cologne, especially by filling his backgrounds and landscapes with specific and elaborate details, and by rendering his figures with more bulk and volume.Emmerson, 412 Wellesz described his paintings as evidencing an "intensity of feeling which gives a very special and very moving quality to his work. His devotion is reflected in his figures: it charges with symbolic meaning the smallest details of his paintings; and, in a hidden, almost magical way, it speaks from the concord of his pure and glowing colours."Wellesz, 6 Lochner painted with

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

, preparing the surface in a way typical of other North German artists; in some works, he attached canvas to the panel support underneath the usual chalk ground. This was probably done where there were to be large areas of plain

gilding Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

. Where the gold ground was to have a pattern such as a

brocade Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...

, this was carved into the chalk ground before gilding, and, in some paintings, elements had moulded additions applied to raise the surface to be gilded. He employed a number of techniques when gilding, to give different effects. These included laying the

leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

with water for burnished passages, and with oil or varnish sizing (mordant gilding) for the more decorative areas.Billinge A, 65 His colour schemes tend to be bright and luminous, filled with varieties of red, blue and green pigments. He often employed

ultramarine Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ''ultramarinus'', literally 'beyond the sea', because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afgh ...

, then expensive and difficult to source.Corley, 94 His figures are regularly outlined with red paint.Emmerson, 413 He was innovative in his rendering of flesh tones, which he built up using lead whites to give pale complexions with almost porcelain qualities. In this, he refers to an older tradition of indicating women of high nobility whose paleness was associated with a life spent indoors, "shielded from toiling in the fields, which was the lot of most". In particular, this technique follows the Master of Veronica, although the earlier painter's figures had an almost yellowish, ivory hue.Chapuis, 226 Lochner's Madonnas tend to be clothed in saturated blues which resonate with surrounding yellow, red and green paint.Chapuis, 88 According to James Snyder, the artist "employed these four basic colors for his harmonies", but went beyond by using more subdued and deep hues in a technique referred to as "pure color".Snyder, 219 Lochner Ambroise Augustin et Cecile

Conrad von Soest Conrad von Soest, also ''Konrad'' in modern texts, or in Middle High German ''Conrad van Sost'' or "von Soyst", (born around 1370 in Dortmund; died soon after 1422) was the most significant Westphalian artist and painted in the so-called ''soft ...

, Lochner often applied black cross-

hatching Hatching (french: hachure) is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or painting or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines. (It is also used in monochromatic representations of heraldry to indicate what the ...

on gold, usually to render metallic objects such as

brooch A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with vitreous enamel, ...

es, crowns or buckles, in imitation of goldsmiths work on precious objects such as

reliquaries A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fe ...

and

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

s.Chapuis, 214–17 He was heavily influenced by the art and process of metalwork and goldsmithing, especially in his painting of gold grounds, and it has been suggested that he may have once trained as a

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

. Evidence of his imitation of elements of their craft is apparent even in his

underdrawing Underdrawing is a preparatory drawing done on a painting ground before paint is applied, for example, an imprimatura or an underpainting. Underdrawing was used extensively by 15th century painters like Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden. These ...

s. Notable and elaborate painted examples include the tooled gold border of the angelic concert in his ''Last Judgement'', and Gabriel's clasp on the outer wing of the ''Dombild altarpiece''. Lochner seems to have prepared on paper before approaching his underdrawings; there is little evidence of reworking, even when positioning large groups of figures.

Infrared reflectography Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

of the underdrawings for the ''Last Judgement'' panels show letters used to denote the final colour to be applied, for example ''g'' for ''gelb'' (yellow) or ''w'' for ''weiss'' (white), and there are few deviations in the finished work. He often rearranged drapery fold lines or to denote perspective, enlarged or diminished the size of figures. The underdrawings reveal a draughtsman of skill, dynamism, and confidence; the figures appear fully formed with little evidence of reworking. Many are extremely detailed and precisely modelled, for example, St Ursula's brooch in the ''Altarpiece of the City Patron Saints'', which contains closely detailed

garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. Etymology From the ...

s and

diadem A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. Overview The word derives from the Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω ''diadéō'', "I ...

Stefan Lochner - Sts Mark, Barbara and Luke - WGA13350

Perhaps influenced by van Eyck's '' Madonna in the Church'', Lochner closely detailed the fall and gradient of light. According to the art historian Brigitte Corley, the clothes of "protagonists change their hues in delicate reaction to the influx of light, reds being transformed through a symphony of pink tonalities to a dusty greyish white, greens to a warm pale yellow, and lemon shading through oranges to a saturated red". Lochner employed the notion of supernatural illumination not just from van Eyck, but also from von Soest's ''Crucifixion'', where light emanating from Christ dissolves around

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

's red robe, as yellows rays eventually become white. There is a real possibility that a number of the faces of saints are modelled on historical persons, i.e. as

donor portrait A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or (much more rarely) her, family. ''Donor portrait'' usually refers to the portr ...

s of the commissioners and their wives. Figures fitting this theory include St Ursula and St Gereon panels from the City Saints altarpiece. Unlike the painters in the Low Countries, Lochner was not so concerned with delineating perspective; his pictures are often set in shallow space, while his backgrounds give little indication of distance and often dissolve into solid gold. Thus, and given his harmonious colour schemes, Lochner is usually described as one of the last exponents of the International Gothic. This is not to say his paintings lack contemporary northern sophistication; his arrangements are often innovative. The worlds he paints are hushed, according to Snyder, achieved with the symmetry of subdued use of colour and the often repeated stylistic element of circles. Angels form circles around the heavenly figures; the heavenly figures' heads are highly circular and they wear round haloes. According to Snyder, the viewer is slowly "drawn into empathy with the revolving forms".Snyder, 220 Because of the paucity of surviving attributed works, it is difficult to detect any evolution in Lochner's style. Art historians are unsure if his style became progressively more or less influenced by Netherlandish art. Recent

dendrochronological Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...

examination of attributed works indicate that his development was not linear, suggesting that the more advanced ''Presentation in the Temple'' is of 1445, predating the more Gothic ''Saints'' panels now divided between London and Cologne.

Work

Panel paintings

Lochner's major works include three large polyptychs: the ''Dombild Altarpiece''; the ''Last Judgement'', which is broken apart and in several collections; and Nuremberg's ''Crucifixion''. Only two attributed paintings are dated; the 1445 '' Nativity'' now in the

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pinak ...

, Munich, and the ''Presentation in the Temple'' from 1447, now in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

. There is a smaller, earlier version of the presentation scene at the

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ( pt, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One ...

, Lisbon, dated 1445. As secular works grew in demand and religious works became unfashionable in later centuries, 15th-century polyptychs were often broken up and sold as individual works, especially if a panel or section contained an image that could pass as a secular portrait. Wing panels and other fragments of Lochner's larger works are today spread across various museums and collections. Two surviving double-sided wing panels from an altarpiece with images of saints are in the London's

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne (this now sawn through so both sides can be displayed on a wall). The wings of the ''Last Judgement'' originally had six parts, painted on both sides, but have been sawn into twelve individual pictures, now divided between the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, the

in Munich and the

Städel Museum The Städel, officially the ''Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie'', is an art museum in Frankfurt, with one of the most important collections in Germany. The Städel Museum owns 3,100 paintings, 660 sculptures, more than 4,600 ...

in Frankfurt.Wellesz, 4 It is probably from early in his career, but in subject matter and background differs from other extant and attributed works. While the elements are arranged in typical harmony, the composition and tone are unusually dark and dramatic. The ''Crucifixion'' is also an early work and reminiscent of late medieval painting. It has a heavily ornamented gilded background and the smooth flowing quality of the 'soft' Gothic style.Wellesz, 4 Last Judgement Lochner detail1

The extant works repeatedly address the same scenes and themes. The nativity is recurrent, while several panels depict the Virgin and Child, often surrounded by a chorus of angels, or in earlier panels, blessed by a hovering representation of

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

or a dove (representing the

Holy Ghost For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Grud ...

). In many instances Mary is enclosed in her usual enclosed garden.Wellesz, 6 Several reveal the work of a number of hands, with weaker and less confident passages attributed to workshop members. The figures of Mary and Gabriel on the reverse of the ''Dombild'' were drawn more rapidly and with less skill than the figures on the main panels, and their drapery is modelled with, according to the art historian Julien Chapuis, a certain "stiffness", while the cross hatching "achieves no clear definition of

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

". A number of drawings have been associated with him, but only one, a c. 1450 brush and ink on paper entitled ''Virgin and Child'' and now in the

Musee du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, is attributed with confidence.Borchert, 254

Illuminated manuscripts

Lochner is associated with three surviving

books of hours The book of hours is a Christian devotional book used to pray the canonical hours. The use of a book of hours was especially popular in the Middle Ages and as a result, they are the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript ...

; in Darmstadt, Berlin and Anholt. The extent of his association in each is debated; workshop members were probably heavily involved in their production. The most famous is the early 1450s Prayer book of Stephan Lochner now at Darmstadt; the others are the Berlin Book of Prayers of c. 1444, and the Anholt Prayerbook, completed in the 1450s. The manuscripts are very small (Berlin: 9.3 cm x 7 cm, Darmstadt: 10.7 cm x 8 cm, Anholt: 9 cm x 8 cm) and similar in layout and colourisation and are each extensively decorated in gold and blue. The borders are ornamented in bright colours and contain acanthus scrolls, gold foliage, flowers, berry-like fruits and round pods.Chapuis, 67 The Darmstadt book includes a complete cycle of the Martyrdom of the Apostles. Its illustrations contain Lochner's characteristic application of deep blue, reminiscent of his '' Virgin in the Rose Garden''. The art historian Ingo Walther detects Lochner's hand in the "pious intimacy and soulfulness of the figures, always expressed so gently and elegantly, even in the extremely small format of the pictures". Chapuis agrees with the attribution, noting how many of the miniatures share thematic similarities to attributed panels. He writes that the illustrations "are not a peripheral phenomenon. On the contrary, they address several of the concerns articulated in Lochner's paintings and formulate them anew. There is little doubt that these exquisite images stem from the same mind." The text of the Darmstadt book is written in Cologne vernacular, the Berlin book in Latin.

Other formats

Lochner Drawing Virgin adoring the infant Christ BM

There are extant liturgical vestments containing embroidered figures, including that of St. Barbara, in Lochner's style and with similar facial types. This has led to some speculation whether Lochner provided the models. In addition, a number of contemporary stained glass panels are similar in style, and there has been debate whether he might have been responsible for church murals; the over-life-size figures of the ''Dombild'' and ''Virgin with the Violet'' indicate his ability to work on a monumental scale.Chapuis, 188 Two drawings on paper in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...

were at times thought to be studies for the Munich ''Nativity''. The lines of the folds in the garments closely match those of the painting, although the technical ability does not. The Paris drawing has blotches of paint indicating that it was a study piece for workshop members. The London piece is superior, but its lines are more rigid, lacking Lochner's fluidity, and so its attribution has been relegated to a draughtsman closely associated with Lochner.Chapuis, 182–84

Influences

Lochner's art seems indebted to two broad sources; Netherlandish artists van Eyck and

, and the earlier German masters

and the Master of Saint Veronica. From the former Lochner drew his realism in depicting naturalistic backgrounds, objects, and clothes. From the latter, he adopted the somewhat antiquated manner of depicting figures, especially females, with doll-like, eloquent and sensitive features, to present "iconic, almost timeless" atmospheres, enhanced by the then old-fashioned gold backgrounds.Smith, 427 Lochner's figures have idealised facial features typical of medieval portraiture. His subjects, females in particular, usually have the high foreheads, long noses, small rounded chins, tucked blond curls and prominent ears typical of the late Gothic, giving them the characteristic monumentality of 13th-century art, placing them on seemingly similar shallow backgrounds. Lochner probably saw van Eyck's c. 1432 ''

Ghent Altarpiece The ''Adoration of the Mystic Lamb'', also called the ''Ghent Altarpiece'' ( nl, De aanbidding van het Lam Gods), is a large and complex 15th-century polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. It was begun around the mid-1420 ...

'' during his visit to the Netherlands and seems to have borrowed a number of its compositional elements. The similarities include the manner in which the figures engage with their space and the emphasis on and rendering of elements such as

s, gems and metals. Some figures in Lochner's paintings are directly borrowed from Ghent, and a number of facial features match those seen in van Eyck. His ''Virgin with the Violet'' has often been compared to van Eyck's 1439 '' Virgin at the Fountain''. Similarly to those in van Eyck's work, Lochner's angels often sing or play musical instruments, including

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

s and organs.Corley, 90 He seemingly rejected some aspects of van Eyckian realism, notably in his depictions of shadows, and his unwillingness to apply transparent glazes. As a colourist, Lochner was more inclined towards the International Gothic style, even if this inhibited realism. He did not utilise the newly developed Netherlandish techniques of representing perspective, but rather indicated distance through the diminution of parallel objects.Corley, 94

Legacy

The historical evidence suggests that Lochner's paintings were well known and widely copied during his lifetime, and remained so until the 16th century. Early examples in ink after his ''Virgin in Adoration'' are in the

and

.Chapuis, 182 The influence of Lochner's ''Last Judgement'' can be seen in

's '' Gdansk altarpiece'', where the gates of Heaven are similar, as is the rendering of the blessed. Albrecht Dürer knew of him before his stay in Cologne, and Van der Weyden saw his paintings during his travel to Italy. The latter's '' Altar of Saint John'' is similar to Lochner's ''Flaying of Bartholomew'', especially in the executioner's pose,Chapuis, 30–31 while his '' Saint Columba altarpiece'' includes two motifs from Lochner's ''Adoration of the Magi'' triptych; specifically, the king in the central panel with his back to the viewer, and the girl in the right hand wing holding a basket containing doves. The ''Heisterbach Altarpiece'', a dismantled double set of wings now broken apart and divided between

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

and Cologne, is heavily indebted to Lochner's style. The inner panels show sixteen scenes from the lives of Christ and of the Virgin that bear multiple similarities to Lochner's work, including in format, compositional motifs,

physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general ...

and colourisation. The work was for a period attributed to Lochner but is now generally accepted as bearing his strong influence. In 1954 Alfred Stange described the

Master of the Heisterbach Altarpiece The Master of the Heisterbach Altarpiece was a German painter active around Cologne between 1440 and 1460. Style The work of the Master of the Heisterbach Altarpiece shows traces of the influence of Stefan Lochner, duly following his compo ...

as Lochner's "best-known and most important pupil and follower",Chapuis, 239 although research in 2014 indicates that the two may have collaborated on the panels. Research in 2014 by Iris Schaeffer into the underdrawings of the ''Dombild Altarpiece'' established two guiding hands, presumably Lochner and an exceptionally talented pupil, whom she concludes was in probability the principal artist behind the ''Heisterbach Altarpiece''. A counter view is that Lochner's workshop was producing to a deadline, and he delegated as a matter of expediency.

Gallery

File:Stefan Lochner Crucifixion.jpg, ''Crucifixion with Saints'', 107.5 x 190.3 cm.

, Munich File:Martyrdom of the Apostles detail.jpg, "Martyrdom of

Andrew the Apostle Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an Apostles in the New Testament, apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He ...

", '' Martyrdom of the Apostles'', c. 1435–40, Städel, Frankfurt File:Martyrdom of the Apostles Martyrdom of St John (Lochner).jpg, "Martyrdom of Saint John", ''Martyrdom of the Apostles'', c. 1435–40, Städel, Frankfurt File:Stefan Lochner, The Martyrdom of the Apostles.jpg, "Martyrdoms of

Simon the Zealot Simon the Zealot (, ) or Simon the Canaanite or Simon the Canaanean (, ; grc-gre, Σίμων ὁ Κανανίτης; cop, ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲓ-ⲕⲁⲛⲁⲛⲉⲟⲥ; syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܩܢܢܝܐ) was one of the most obscure among the apostl ...

and Jude the Apostle", ''Martyrdom of the Apostles'', c. 1435–40, Städel, Frankfurt File:Stefan Lochner_Presentation at the Temple, c 1447.jpg, ''

Presentation of Christ in the Temple The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (or ''in the temple'') is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem, that is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, o ...

'', c. 1445, 37.6 x 23.7 cm. Reverse of the ''Crucifixion''.

, Lisbon File:Stefan Lochner - Presentation of Christ in the Temple - WGA13347.jpg, ''Presentation of Christ in the Temple'', c. 1447.

Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt (HLMD) is a large multidisciplinary museum in Darmstadt, Germany. The museum exhibits Rembrandt, Beuys, a primeval horse and a mastodon under the slogan "The whole world under one roof". As one of the oldest pub ...

File:Stefan Lochner - Drei Heilige, ca.1450 (London).jpg, ''Three Saints'' (Matthew, Catherine of Alexandria and John the Evangelist),Three Saints
. National Gallery, London. Retrieved 16 August 2015 c. 1450. National Gallery, London File:Stefan Lochner Virgin with the Violet.jpg, ''Virgin with the Violet'', before 1450, 121.5 x 102 cm. Kolumba Museum, Cologne

References

Notes

Sources

* "Billinge A": Billinge, Rachel; Campbell, Lorne; Dunkerton, Jill; Foister, Susan. "A double-sided panel by Stephan Lochner". ''National Gallery Technical Bulletin'', No. 18, 1997 * Billinge B": Billinge, Rachel; Campbell, Lorne; Dunkerton, Jill; Foister, Susan, et al., "Methods and Materials of Northern European Painting in the National Gallery, 1400–1550". National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 18, pp. 6–55, 1997
online text
* Borchert, Till-Holger. ''Van Eyck to Dürer''. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011. * Campbell, Lorne. ''The Fifteenth-Century Netherlandish Paintings''. London: National Gallery, 1998. * Chapuis, Julien. ''Stefan Lochner: Image Making in Fifteenth-Century Cologne''. Turnhout: Brepols, 2004. * Chilvers, Ian. ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. * Corley, Brigitte. "A Plausible Provenance for Stefan Lochner?". ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', Volume 59, 1996 * Emmerson, Richard K. ''Key Figures in Medieval Europe''. London: Routledge, 2005. * Kenney, Theresa. ''The Christ Child in Medieval Culture''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012. * Nash, Susie. ''Northern Renaissance art''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. * O'Neill, Robert Keating. ''The Art of the Book from the Early Middle Ages to the Renaissance''. MA: John J. Burns Library, 2000 * Richardson, Carol. ''Locating Renaissance Art: Renaissance Art Reconsidered''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007. * Ridderbos, Bernhard; Van Buren, Anne; Van Veen, Henk. ''Early Netherlandish Paintings: Rediscovery, Reception and Research''. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2005. * Rowlands, John. ''The Age of Dürer and Holbein: German Drawings 1400–1550''. London: British Museum Publications, 1988. * Schaefer, Iris; Von Saint-George, Caroline. "New Findings Concerning the Underdrawing of Stefan Lochner's ''Altarpiece of the City Patron Saints'' in Cologne Cathedral". ''Kölner Domblatt'', Volume 79, 2014 * Schmid, Wolfgang; Holladay, Joan. "Reviewed: 'Painting and Patronage in Cologne, 1300–1500' by Brigitte Corley". ''Speculum'', Volume 78, No. 2, 2003 * Singer, Hans W. ''Stories of the German Artists''. Wildside Press, 2010. * Smith, Jeffrey Chipps. ''The Northern Renaissance (Art and Ideas)''. London: Phaidon Press, 2004. * Snyder, James. ''Northern Renaissance Art''. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985. * Stechow, Wolfgang. "A Youthful Work by Stephan Lochner". ''The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art'', Volume 55, No. 10, 1968 * Walther, Ingo. ''Codices Illustres: The World's most famous Illuminated Manuscripts''. Berlin: Taschen, 2014. * Wellesz, Emmy. ''The Masters, 76: Stephan Lochner''. London: Fratelli Fabbri, 1963 * Wolfson, Michael. "Hat Dürer das 'Dombild' gesehen?". ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', Volume 49, 1986 * Unverfehrt, Gerd. ''Da sah ich viel köstliche Dinge: Albrecht Dürers Reise in die Niederlande''. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2007.

External links

* Schaefer, Iris.
New insights into the Genesis of Stefan Lochner's 'Altarpiece of the Patron Saints of Cologne'
. Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lochner, Stefan 1451 deaths 15th-century deaths from plague (disease) People from Bodenseekreis 15th-century German painters German male painters Gothic painters German Roman Catholics Year of birth uncertain