Matthias Grünewald ( – 31 August 1528; also known as Mathis Gothart Nithart) was a German Renaissance painter of religious works who ignored Renaissance

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

to continue the style of late medieval Central European art into the 16th century. Only ten paintings—including several polyptychs—and thirty-five drawings survive, all religious, although many others were lost at sea on their way to Sweden as war booty. He was obscure until the late nineteenth century, when many of his paintings were attributed to

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 ...

, who is now seen as his stylistic antithesis. His largest and most famous work is the '' Isenheim Altarpiece'' created ''c.'' 1512 to 1516.

Life

He was recognised in his own lifetime, as shown by his commissions, yet the details of his life are unusually unclear for a painter of his significance at this date. The first source to sketch his biography comes from the German art historian Joachim von Sandrart, who describes him around 1505 working on the exterior decoration of an altarpiece by

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. This is the sort of work typically performed by apprentices and therefore an estimate of his age can be reached, suggesting he was born in 1475. Sandrart records that Grünewald had as an apprentice the painter Hans Grimmer, who became famous in his time, but most of whose works were lost in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. Sandrart describes Grünewald as leading a withdrawn and melancholy life, and marrying unhappily. More recent investigations have provided further information on Grünewald's life. In 1511 he became court artist of Uriel von Gemmingen, Archbishop of Mainz, and he also worked for the next archbishop, Albert of Brandenburg. About 1510 he received a commission from the Frankfurt merchant Jacob Heller and settled in nearby

where records indicate he bought a house and married Anna, a converted

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

, then probably aged 18. The marriage was not happy and in 1523 she was institutionalised with what is variously described as mental illness and

demonic possession Spirit Possession is an altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors which are purportedly caused by the control of a human body and its functions by Supernatural#Spirit, spirits, ghosts, demons, angels, or Deity, gods. The concept ...

. From 1512 to 1514 or 1515 he worked on the Isenheim altarpiece, apparently in partnership with another Mathis, variously surnamed Nithart, Neithart, von Würzburg (after his place of birth), or Gothardt. Grünewald seems to have left Isenheim in a hurry, returning to Frankfurt, and his subsequent poverty suggests he was not fully paid for the altarpiece. In 1527 he entered the services of the wealthy and noble von Erbach family, apparently with a child (whether his own or adopted, is unclear). He most probably died in 1532, although sources vary. There has been considerable uncertainty about the details of his life. In 1938 Walter Karl Zülch published the theory that Grünewald and his partner Nithart/Gothardt were the same person; this Nithart/Gothardt was a painter, engineer, and "water artist" born in Würzburg in the 1460s or maybe 1470s and probably dying in 1528. This theory is now generally discredited, although more recent historians believe Nithart/Gothardt may have pretended to be Grünewald for business reasons.

Works

Only religious works are included in his small surviving corpus, the most famous being the '' Isenheim Altarpiece'', completed 1515, now in the Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar. Its nine images on twelve panels are arranged on double wings to present three views (rather than just the open and closed states of triptych

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), according to the season or occasion. The first view with the outer wings closed shows a Crucifixion flanked by Saint Sebastien and Saint Anthony, with a predella showing the entombment. When the first set of wings is opened, the ''Annunciation'', ''Angelic Concert'' (sometimes interpreted as the ''Birth of Ecclesia'') ''Mary bathing Christ'', and ''Resurrection'' are displayed. The third view discloses a carved and gilded wood altarpiece by Nikolaus Hagenauer, flanked by the '' Temptation of St. Anthony'' and ''Anthony's visit to Saint Paul''. As well as being by far his greatest surviving work, the altarpiece contains most of his surviving painting by surface area, being 2.65 metres high and over 5 metres wide at its fullest extent. His other works are in Germany, except for a small Crucifixion in Washington and another in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Switzerland. Around 1510 he was asked to paint four saints in grisaille for the outside of the wings of

's Heller Altarpiece in Frankfurt. Dürer's work was destroyed by fire and survives only in copies, but the wings have survived, one pair of saints being displayed in Frankfurt's Municipal Art Gallery and the other in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

's, Staatliche Kunsthalle. There are also the late ''Tauberbischofsheim altarpiece'' in the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, and the ''Establishment of the Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome'' (1517–1519), Augustiner Museum,

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. A large panel of Saint Erasmus and Saint Maurice in

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 ...

probably dates from 1521 to 1524, and was apparently part of a larger altarpiece project, the rest of which has not survived. Other works are in Munich, Karlsruhe,

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

and Stuppach ( :de). Altogether four somber and awe-filled

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

s survive. The visionary character of his work, with its expressive colour and line, is in stark contrast to Dürer's works. His paintings are known for their dramatic forms, vivid colors, and depiction of light.

Reputation

The

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

theologian Philipp Melanchthon is one of the few contemporary writers to refer to Grünewald, who is rather puzzlingly described as "moderate" in style, when compared with Dürer and Cranach; what paintings this judgement is based on is uncertain. By the end of the century, when the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolph II, embarked on his quest to secure as many Dürer paintings as possible, the Isenheim Altarpiece was already generally believed to be a Dürer. In the late 19th century he was rediscovered, and became something of a cult figure, with the angst-laden expressionism—and absence of any direct classicism—of the Isenheim Altarpiece appealing to both German

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

s and Modernists. Joris-Karl Huysmans promoted his art enthusiastically in both novels and journalism, rather as

Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French language, French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Pas ...

did that of Vermeer. His apparent sympathies with the peasants in the Peasants' War also brought him admiration from the political left. The composer

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

based his 1938 opera ''

Mathis der Maler ''Mathis der Maler'' (''Matthias the Painter'' is an opera by Paul Hindemith. The work's protagonist, Matthias Grünewald, was a historical figure who flourished during the Reformation, and whose art, in particular the Isenheim Altarpiece, inspi ...

'' on the life of Grünewald during the German Peasants' War; scene Six includes a partial re-enactment of some scenes from the Isenheim Altarpiece.

Elias Canetti Elias Canetti (; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994; ; ) was a German-language writer, known as a Literary modernism, modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and nonfiction writer. Born in Ruse, Bulgaria, to a Sephardi Jews, Sephardic Jewish fam ...

wrote his novel ''Auto-da-Fé'' surrounded by reproductions of the Isenheim altarpiece stuck to the wall. German author W. G. Sebald traces the life story of Grünewald in his first literary work, ''After Nature''. This book-length prose-poem uses the preoccupations of Grünewald and especially his creation of the '' Isenheim Altarpiece'' to communicate an intensely apocalyptic vision of a world that has abandoned nature. The Isenheim Altarpiece also features in the last chapter of Sebald's novel ''The Emigrants'', in which the painter Max Ferber describes his intuition of the extreme power of pain after seeing Grünewald's work.

Veneration

He is commemorated as an artist and saint by the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

on April 6, along with Dürer and Cranach.

Gallery

File:Stuppacher Madonna - Grünewald.jpg, ''The Stuppach Madonna'', 1514–1519. File:Matthias Grünewald - Establishment of the Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome - WGA10779.jpg, '' The Miracle of Our Lady of the Snows'', 1517-1519 File:Mathis Gothart Grünewald 062.jpg, '' The Mocking of Christ'', File:Mathis Gothart Grünewald 060.jpg, ''Christ Bearing the Cross'', 1523–1525 (originally on one side of the panel that is known as the Tauberbischofsheim altarpiece, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe) File:Mathis Gothart Grünewald 058.jpg, Large ''Crucifixion'', 1523–1525 (originally on the other side of the panel known as the Tauberbischofsheim altarpiece) File:Mathis Gothart Grünewald 047.jpg, ''Crucifixion'' in the Kunstmuseum Basel. File:Mathis Gothart Grünewald 007.jpg, ''Crucifixion'' in the National Gallery of Art, Washington. File:Matthias Grünewald - Resurrection.jpg, Resurrection File:Isenheim Altarpiece - Saints - Right.jpg File:Isenheim Altarpiece - Saints - Left.jpg File:Isenheim Altarpiece - Concert of Angels.jpg File:Isenheim Altarpiece — Annunciation.jpg

Notes

References

* * Andersson, Christiane
"Grünewald, Matthias."
In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, (accessed January 30, 2012; subscription required). * * Bryda, Gregory. (2023)
The Trees of the Cross: Wood as Subject and Medium in Late Medieval Germany
'. New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 78–129. * Cuttler, Charles D. (1968) ''Northern Painting from Pucelle to Bruegel''. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. * *

External links

*
Grünewald Gallery at MuseumSyndicate

W. G. Sebald about Grünewald
Matthias Grünewald. paintings

https://isenheimer.antrovista.com
Web app Isenheimer Altar {{DEFAULTSORT:Grunewald, Matthias 1470s births 1528 deaths Painters from Würzburg German Renaissance painters 15th-century German painters German male painters 16th-century German painters German Roman Catholics People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Catholic painters