Tilman Riemenschneider ( 1460 – 7 July 1531) was a German

woodcarver Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) 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 sculpture, ...

and sculptor active in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between the Late Gothic, to which he essentially belonged, and Northern Renaissance art, a master in limewood and stone. He was also a local politician in the council of Würzburg. Most of his subjects are religious, including several very large and spectacular carved wood

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s, as well as tombs in stone, and statues. He was largely forgotten soon after his death, but rediscoved by art historians in the 19th century. Rothenburg BW 17

Biography

Tilman Riemenschneider was born around the year 1460 at Heiligenstadt im Eichsfeld in present-day

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. When Riemenschneider was about five years old, his father was involved in a violent political conflict, the , so the family had to leave Heiligenstadt and all their possessions. They resettled in Osterode, where his father became Master of the Mint (a good position at that time) and where Riemenschneider spent his childhood years. Riemenschneider likely came to Würzburg for the first time at the age of 18 in 1478/79. His uncle served as notary and financial advisor to the bishop there, but he did not stay for long. Around 1473, Riemenschneider learned the trade of sculpting and woodcarving, likely in

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

or the

Upper Rhine Upper Rhine ( ; ; kilometres 167 to 529 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between the Middle Bridge, Basel, Middle Bridge in Basel, Switzerland, and the Rhine knee in Bingen am Rhein, Bingen, Germany. It is surrounded by the Upper Rhine P ...

— possibly in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

and/or Ulm. At that time, the statutes of the guild required that an apprentice travel to many different workshops to gain experience. Very little is known about this period of his life, but he likely came in contact with the work of

Martin Schongauer Martin Schongauer (c. 1450–53, Colmar – 2 February 1491, Breisach), also known as Martin Schön ("Martin beautiful") or Hübsch Martin ("pretty Martin") by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter. He was the most important ...

, whose copper engravings served him later as examples. In 1483, he settled in Würzburg. On 7 December 1483, he joined the Saint Luke's Guild of painters, sculptors, and glass workers as a painter's assistant. On 28 February 1485, he married Anna Schmidt (born Uchenhofer), 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. Also in 1485, Riemenschneider became a citizen of Würzburg, which made it possible to attain the status of master craftsman, and opened a workshop in Franziskanergasse, in the home of his wife. His earliest confirmed work is the gravestone of Eberhard von Grumbach in the parish church (') at Rimpar. This may be the type of work he started out with before obtaining large church commissions. He then received numerous orders from the town councils of Würzburg and neighboring towns. The earliest large work attributed to him is the ''Franziskusaltar'' in the church of St James (') in

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town located in the district of Ansbach (district), Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved Middle Ages, medieval old town, a d ...

, 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, sometimes dated from 1485. In 1490, the town council of Münnerstadt ordered an

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum, it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate struct ...

for the altar of ''St Mary Magdalene'', the parish church, which included a carving of

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

with six angels. It was set up in 1492. In 1491, the town council of Würzburg ordered two life-sized stone figures of ''Adam'' and ''Eve'' for the south portal of the council's church, the '' Marienkapelle'' (erected in 1493). In 1494, Riemenschneider's first wife died, leaving him with three stepsons and a daughter. In keeping with the times and his status, he remarried Anna Rappolt in 1497. They had two daughters and three sons, all of whom seem to have inherited their father's artistic talent. In 1495, he created a statue of ''Virgin and Child'' for the parrish church of St Bernard, Würzburg). More high-profile work followed: In 1496 Riemenschneider received the commission by Prince-Bishop at

Würzburg Cathedral Würzburg Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of ye ...

Lorenz von Bibra to carve the

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

for his predecessor Rudolf von Scherenberg. It was erected in 1499, the same year he got the commission for the Imperial tomb of

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

and his wife Cunigunde of Luxembourg at

Bamberg Cathedral Bamberg Cathedral (, official name Bamberger Dom St. Peter und St. Georg) is a church in Bamberg, Germany, completed in the 13th century. The cathedral is under the administration of the Archdiocese of Bamberg and is the seat of Archbishop of ...

(delivered 1513). 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 is estimated to have provided work for as many as 40 employees. Between 1501 and 1517 he had twelve apprentices registered, more than any other in Würzburg, and in 1508 he stated three stone sculptors would work for him. For that timespan alone at least a dozen retables are known to have been made by Riemenschneider's workshop. In November 1504, Riemenschneider became a member of the sub-council (') of the town of Würzburg, an office he held until 1525. This office not only brought him social status, but it also helped him obtain many large and profitable commissions. In 1508, Riemenschneider married Margaretha Wurzbach. From 1509 until 1522 he was a member of the ''Oberrat'' four times. He married again, in 1520, a woman of whom only the first name, Margarethe, is known. In 1520/1, Riemenschneider was one of two mayors of Würzburg. His increasing engagement in local politics at a time of heavy order volume meant that his employees and apprentices took a more prominent role in the creation of the workshop's output. Art historians have been able to identify specific figures as the work of individual workers. During the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

, Riemenschneider was one of the town council members who refused to obey an order by Konrad von Thüngen, the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg to fight the revolting peasants. On 4 June 1525, the peasant's army was destroyed, with 8,000 killed, just outside Würzburg by the troops of Georg, Steward of Waldburg-Zeil, and the bishop. After the town surrendered, the full town council, including Riemenschneider, was incarcerated and tortured in Marienberg Fortress. The claim that both of his hands were broken during the torture, which ended his artistic career, is today considered to be a legend without base in fact. It probably only originated in the 19th century after his "rediscovery". Together with the rest of the council, Tilman was set free after two months, with loss of most of his property. The only order he is known to have received after this was work in 1527 for a Benedictine nunnery at Kitzingen. Until his death on 7 July 1531 at Würzburg, he led a retired life with his fourth wife. His son Jörg from his second marriage continued the workshop after his death. Due to his loss of status, Riemenschneider was soon forgotten as an artist, other than for the two epitaphs of Bishops Rudolf von Scherenberg and Lorenz von Bibra side by side in

. Only when his gravestone was discovered in 1822 between Würzburg Cathedral and Neumünster was his outstanding position in Gothic sculpture recognized by a wider audience. Unlike

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 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 or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

Veit Stoss Veit Stoss (, also spelled Stoß and Stuoss; ; ; before 1450about 20 September 1533) was a leading German language, German sculptor, mostly working with wood, whose career covered the transition between the late Gothic art, Gothic and the North ...

, Riemenschneider acquired true fame only posthumously.

Art

The sculptures and woodcarvings of Tilman Riemenschneider are in the late Gothic style. Notably the tomb for Lorenz von Bibra (see below) is considered as one of the pieces marking the transition from Gothic to Renaissance art. Riemenschneider's early success as a sculptor was due to the plasticity of his works, with great care being taken of modeling the folds of garments. This way of sculpting the clothing as well as the typical oval faces and almond-shaped eyes were modelled on art from the

region of the 1470s, implying that Riemenschneider may have learned his trade either there or at Ulm. Other traits of his style derive from his presumed apprenticeship in

, where he grew up. It is assumed he learned stone and

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

carving first and only later turned to wood carving. Some wooden figures, though unmistakably his own work, show some signs of less-than-perfect choice of wood or handling. His work is equally characterized by the expressiveness of the figurines' faces (often shown with an inward look, as in the presumed self-portrait). The emphasis on expression of inner emotions sets Riemenschneider's work apart from that of his immediate predecessors, although his later work show

mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

characteristics, simplified forms with less volume that were easier to dublicate, and may be also a sign of restraint due to the upcoming

iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

. Riemenschneider is seen today as one of the first sculptors of the 15th century who did not have all his figures painted. Prior to the 1490s, almost every sculpture had been polychromed and gilded, usually by a painter (so-called '), which hightend the liveliness of the figures and attracted more admiration than the sculptural work itself. Curiously, Riemenschneider didn't employ any painters like other sculptor's workshops. Instead he worked regularly with painters who had their own business, like Jakob Mülholzer (cooperation verifiable from 1490/91–1514/15) und Martin Schwarz (lived c. 1460–1511).Specifically the reflections of light in the eyes in the panel paintings by Schwarz are similar to the painted eyes of Riemenschneider's figures. Marincola in Chapuis 1999, S. 107f. The reasons for shifting to a new type of art, where the wood remained visible, are still debated by art historians. Riemenschneider Trauernde Frauen Bodemuseum

Riemenschneider Trauernde Frauen Bodemuseum

Souren Melikian places Riemenschneider's best work, such as the ''Virgin listening to the Annunciation'', in the same league as the oil paintings of

.^Ref? Art historian

Kenneth Clark Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director and broadcaster. His expertise covered a wide range of artists and periods, but he is particularly associated with Italian Renaissa ...

views the Riemenschneider figures as showing the serious personal piety in Germany in the late fifteenth century and as harbingers of the coming

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

.^Ref? Among his successors and/or pupils –beside his sons– were and Philipp Koch. Rothenburg BW 16

Major works

Since his rediscovery in the 19th century countless sculptural works from the region were attributed to him. The largest collection of his work, 81 pieces, can be found in the Mainfränkisches Museum (Marienberg Fortress) in Würzburg, including most stone sculptures from the city's churches. * ''Hassenbacher Vesperbild'', church of Hassenbach (

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen () is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and County town, seat of the Bad Kissingen (district), district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale, Franconia ...

), limewood, around 1490 * ''Altar of the Farewell of the Apostles'', near

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, limewood, polychromed, 1491 * ''Altarpiece of Mary Magdalene'', Münnerstadt, limewood, monochrome, 1490/1492 ** Original central Ascension figures, and the upper relief of left wing today at Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, ** ''Noli me Tangere,'' the other relief of the left wing, and the four sitting Apostles from the predella in the Bode Museum, Berlin * ''Adam and Eve,'' sandstone, 1491/1493, originally Marienkapelle

, Mainfränkisches Museum * ''Madonna of an Annunciation,''

, c. 1495, formerly St Peter's church in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

(Thuringia),

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, Paris
RF1384
* ''Creglingen altarpiece,'' Herrgottskirche, Creglingen, limewood (framing in pinewood), monochrome, 1495–1499 * ''Epitaph of Bishop Rudolf von Scherenberg'',

, marble, 1496/1499 * '' Tomb of Emperor Henry II and Empress Cunigund'',

, limestone, partly gilded, sandstone (base), 1499/1513 * ''Altar of the Apostles,'' ''Altar of the Church Fathers,'' and ''Altar of the Annunciation,'' carvings of ''St. Kilian,'' ''Crucifix,'' and ''Epitaph of Hans von Bibra'', St. Leo, Bibra near

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

, limewood except epitaph, around 1500 * ''Crucifixion'', St Nicolas in Eisingen, Bavaria, 1500–1505 * ''Holy Blood Altar'', Jakobskirche, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, limewood, 1501–1505 * '' Mary Salome and Zebedee'', Würzburg, 1501/1505, now in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London * ''Saint Anne and her three husbands,'' limewood, 1505/1510, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

* ''Grieving Mary'', around 1505/1510, from Acholshausen, Mainfränkisches Museum, Würzburg * ''Altar of Virgin Mary'', Creglingen, limewood, around 1505/1508 * ''Altar of the Apostles'', St Kilian, Windsheim, 1509, now in the Kurpfälzisches Museum,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

* ''St Barbara'', limewood, c. 1510, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich * ''Crucifixion Altar'', (Rothenburg ob der Tauber), limewood, 1510/1513, now in the Kurpfälzisches Museum, Heidelberg * ''Epitaph of Bishop Lorenz of Bibra'', Würzburg Cathedral, 1520/1522 * ''Madonna of the Rosary'', pilgrim's church of ', near Volkach, limewood, around 1521/1524 * ''The Lamentation of Christ'', abbey church of Maidbronn near Würzburg, sandstone, 1525

Gallery

Tilman Riemenschneider, Altar of the Virgin, Creglingen, c1505-08 edit.jpg, ''Altar of the Virgin,'' Creglingen, c. 1505/1508 Haßfurt St. Kilian 30.JPG, St John the Baptist, c. 1490, Pfarrkirche St. Kilian, Haßfurt San Marcos, Tilman Riemenschneider.jpg, St Mark the Evangelist from the

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

of the Münnerstädter high altar, Bode Museum, Berlin Tilman Riemenschneider Hl. Jakobus d. Ä ca.1505-1.jpg, St James the Elder, c. 1505, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, München Riemenschneider Trauernde Maria Mainfränkisches Museum.JPG, ''Grieving Mary,'' c. 1510, formerly Acholshausen, Mainfränkisches Museum, Würzburg Hl. Elisabeth v. Thüringen bearb.jpg, St Elisabeth of Thuringia, c. 1510,

Germanisches Nationalmuseum The ''Germanisches Nationalmuseum'' is a museum in Nuremberg, Germany. Founded in 1852, it houses a large collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day. The museum is Germany' ...

, Nürnberg F4583 Louvre RF1384 Tilman Riemenschneider Vierge de annonciation rwk.jpg, Virgin of an Annunciation,

, c. 1495, formerly St Peter's church, Erfurt,

, Paris Adam by Tilman Riemenschneider, Marienkapelle Wurzburg, 1492-1493, sandstone - Mainfränkisches Museum - Würzburg, Germany - DSC04742.jpg, Adam, from the south portal of the Marienkapelle, c. 1491/1494 Tilman Riemenschneider Eva (1492-93) Mainfraenkisches Museum Wuerzburg-1.jpg, Eve, from the Marienkapelle, both today in the Mainfränkische Museum Detail Madonna mit Kind (Tilman Riemenschneider (1493) im Neumünster Würzburg.jpg, Madonna and Child, 1493, Neumünster, Würzburg (detail) 00 3371 Bamberg - Dom (Kaisergrab)_edit.jpg, Monumental tomb of

and his wife Cunigunde in

, 1499/1514 Maidbronn, Klosterkirche St. Afra, Riemenschneideraltar Rimpar 20221203 0022.jpg, ''The Lamentation of Christ,'' cloister church of St. Afra, Maidbronn, 1525

In literature

The character Goldmund in the 1930 book ''

Narcissus and Goldmund ''Narcissus and Goldmund'' (, ), also published in English as ''Death and the Lover'', is a novel written by the German-Swiss author Hermann Hesse which was first published in 1930. At its publication, ''Narcissus and Goldmund'' was considered ...

'' by

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

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. Hesse describes Riemenschneider's statue of Mary with child which resides in the Pfarrkirche St Burkard in Würzburg as: ''"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 perfection far above that of mankind today."'' The plot of

Elizabeth Peters Barbara Louise Mertz (September 29, 1927 – August 8, 2013) was an American author who wrote under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. In 1952, she received a PhD in Egyptology from the Universi ...

'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

Sources

* Michael Baxandall, ''The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany'', New Haven, London: Yale University Press, 1980. * Julien Chapuis (ed.), ''Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages'', catalogue of the exhibition at

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

, Washington, and

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, New York, Washington: NGA, 1999,
PDF
* Vincent Mayr, "Riemenschneider, Tilman" ''

Grove Art Online ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...

''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2003, . * Iris Kalden-Rosenfeld, ''Tilman Riemenschneider—The Sculptor and His Workshop'', Königstein im Taunus: Langewiesche, 2004, (Originally in German, 2001, revised edition 2019). * Claudia Lichte, Jürgen Lenssen (eds.), ''Tilman Riemenschneider. Werke seiner Blütezeit / Werke seiner Glaubenswelt,'' booklet to the exhibition at Mainfränkisches Museum Würzburg and Cathedral Museum, Würzburg, 2004.

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051116072438/http://www.ku.edu/~sma/collection/europeanamerican/riemenschneider.html ''Virgin and Child''at the

Spencer Museum of Art The Spencer Museum of Art is an art museum operated by the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. History In 1917, the Kansas City art collector Sallie Casey Thayer donated her collection of over seven thousand works of art, ...

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

*''Art of Germany'' (BBC documentary, 2010). I
Episode one
Andrew Graham-Dixon visits and comments on the ''Holy Blood Altar.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riemenschneider, Tilman German woodcarvers 15th-century German artists German Renaissance sculptors 1460s births 1531 deaths * Wooden sculptures in Germany Painters from Würzburg People from Heilbad Heiligenstadt Burials at Würzburg Cathedral German male sculptors 15th-century German sculptors 16th-century German sculptors German Roman Catholics Year of birth uncertain