The ''Dresden Altarpiece'' is a

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

by the German Renaissance artist

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 ...

, executed between 1496 and 1497, and perhaps continued in 1503–1504. It is housed in the

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (, ''Old Masters Gallery'') in Dresden, Germany, displays around 750 paintings from the 15th to the 18th centuries. It includes major Italian Renaissance works as well as Dutch and Flemish paintings. Outstandin ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, Germany.

History

The painting was one of the first commissions received from

Frederick III, Elector of Saxony Frederick III (17 January 1463 – 5 May 1525), also known as Frederick the Wise (German ''Friedrich der Weise''), was Elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the worldly protection of his subject Martin Luther. Freder ...

, together with the ''

Seven Sorrows Polyptych The ''Seven Sorrows Polyptych'' is an oil on panel painting by Albrecht Dürer. The painting includes a central picture (108 x 43 cm), currently at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, and seven surrounding panels (measuring some 60 x 46 cm) wh ...

'' and the ''

Portrait of Frederick III of Saxony The ''Portrait of Frederick III of Saxony'' is a tempera on canvas painting by German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, executed in 1496. It is housed in the Gemäldegalerie of Berlin, Germany. History The painting was one of the first commissi ...

''. Dürer knew the elector during the latter's short stay in Nuremberg in April 1496. The work was destined to the chapel in the

Wittenberg Castle Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

and, initially, should include only the central panel with a ''Virgin and Child''. The use of tempera (in an area where

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

was already common) was perhaps connected to the need of a quick completion In 1503–1504, perhaps in the wake of a plague, two side shutters were added: these were painted with ''St. Sebastian'', patron of the infected, and ''St. Anthony the Abbot'', the protector against

ergotism Ergotism (pron. ) is the effect of long-term ergot poisoning, traditionally due to the ingestion of the alkaloids produced by the ''Claviceps purpurea'' fungus—from the Latin "club" or clavus "nail" and for "head", i.e. the purple club-head ...

. The dating and the attribution of the side panels is disputed.

Description

Differently from most contemporary triptychs, the side shutters could not be closed due to the use of a canvas. The central scene depicts the ''Madonna Adoring the Child'', who sleeps on a cushion over a wide parapet. A book (symbolizing the Holy Texts) lies next to him, together with a pear, an allegory of the

original sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...

. Mary's appearance resembles that in

Dieric Bouts Dieric Bouts (born c. 1415 – 6 May 1475) was an Early Netherlandish painter. Bouts may have studied under Rogier van der Weyden, and his work was influenced by van der Weyden and Jan van Eyck. He worked in Leuven from 1457 (or possibly earlier) ...

' works, as well as those by

Squarcione Francesco Squarcione (''c.'' 1395 – after 1468) was an Italian artist from Padua. His pupils included Andrea Mantegna (with whom he had many legal battles), Cosimo Tura and Carlo Crivelli. There are only two works signed by him: the ''Mad ...

and Mantegna. It is likely that she is a portrait of Dürer's wife, Agnes Frey. The room behind Mary is rendered in

wide angle Wide angle may refer to: * Wide-angle lens, type of camera lens * Wide Angle (TV series), ''Wide Angle'' (TV series), television series * ''Wide Angle'', 1999 album by Hybrid * ''Wide Angles'', 2003 album by Michael Brecker * Wide-angle X-ray scatt ...

perspective. It opens on another room, with St. Joseph's workshop, while a city landscape appears from a window. The upper part of the scene is populated by angels: some hold Mary's floating crown, while other are spreading incense from

thurible A thurible (via Old French from Medieval Latin ) is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in Christian churches including the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian Church of th ...

s. The side panels also contain numerous

putto A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...

es in the background. Their style difference could indicate the intervention of assistants.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dresden Altarpiece Paintings by Albrecht Dürer 1490s paintings Collections of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Paintings depicting Jesus Paintings of the Virgin Mary Triptychs Books in art

History

Description

See also

References

Sources