Grunewald, 'The Crucifixion' from the Isenheim Altarpiece, c.1516

The Crucifixion by Matthias Grunewald ~ Bread for Beggars

My eye is instantly drawn to the agonised suffering displayed on Christ's body. As he is shown in the centre of the painting, it is hard to tear your eyes away from the emaciated body and try to take in the other figures around him. The way Grunewald has painted Jesus' hands is particularly striking; the way in which they grasp upwards to the heavens, straining as they take the weight of the body. 'Why hast thou forsaken me?' Perhaps Jesus has just spoken these lines in a last effort to end the pain, and with no answer, hope has been lost, signalled by the sudden droop of his head. Even his fingers look thin, adding to the feeling that he has been on the cross for what seems like an eternity. We want to rush into the canvas and free Jesus of this burden.

Grunewald's depiction of the human body is striking. We can see the straining tendons of muscle at Christ's exposed armpit. His mouth is sightly parted, perhaps suggesting that his last breath has just escaped his lips, hence Mary's utter despair to the far left of the painting. Or perhaps Jesus is struggling for that last breath, which links to the way his stomach is sucked in, highlighting the pain of simply breathing. The way his legs are turned in and knees knocking together shows the limpness he feels inside. And finally his feet are really what catch my eye, or rather his right foot on top. It almost looks broken at the ankle because of the unnatural position Grunewald has painted. It looks as though it has been forced into that position to be nailed. If you look closely, you can even see the straining of the ligaments on the ankle, amplifying the agony. Grunewald has painted the truth here, and has not used art to cover up any of the finer details.

Grunewald uses a dark background to really make the crucifixion pop out and then emphasises this with his use of colour. Christ looks deathly, his skin tinged with greens and yellows. Moreover, these colours suggests dirt ingrained into his skin, which is emphasised by the dark, chiaroscuro shadows on his body. From his crown of thorns, there are clear punctures in the skin and the sea of sickly yellow is only interrupted by flecks of blood, red and freshly dripping down the contours of his body. As we look at this painting, whether religious or not, our faces mirror those of the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene, pleading to anyone at all to make it stop. Even though we know how this story ends, we still want to interfere and save Christ from this suffering.

Comments

Guccio di Mannaia, 'Chalice for Pope Nicholas IV', 13th century

As the only work remaining of Sienese goldsmith Guccio di Mannaia, the chalice he created for Pope Nicholas IV in the late thirteenth century is an incredibly important work of art. Not only does it highlight the rich, opulent nature of papal commissions, but it proves the talent of Sienese goldsmiths and their resulting influence on painters and sculptors of the period. The chalice is innovative in shape and form, but it is striking first and foremost through the use of gold. It is an object that deserves to be viewed in the flesh, because of its reflective and therefore mimetic potential – like a bronze sculpture it is activated by light and should be experienced in the round as a three-dimensional, highly decorated art object. Its complicated design features an almost architectonic base, star-like as it spills out towards the viewer. The base builds up into the stem of the chalice which is decorated with an array of enamelled plaques featuring saints, prophets, angels and furt...

Nicola Pisano, 'Adoration of the Magi', Pisa Baptistery Pulpit Panel

In this complex, lively, exciting pulpit panel the eye looks up towards the monumentality of the Virgin, who commands this scene. She is massive and powerful, the largest figure with thick swathes of drapery delineating her forcefully protruding knees out into the viewer's space. Seated but still retaining dominance, she defines the classicising style of Nicola Pisano, witnessed throughout the panels of his pulpit in Pisa. Many writers have described the style - Eloise Angiola for instance, refers to the 'sophisticated understanding of classical prototypes to create heroic human forms' in Nicola's pulpit. Certainly in Pisa the prominent debris from the classical past remained visible and Nicola easily had access to various ancient sarcophagi for direct emulation here. The Virgin's features with her serene expression and curled hair beneath the mantle are in fact quite androgenous. She quickly assumes the position of a monumental Roman Emperor or Senator commanding...

Marianne von Werekin, 'Sunrise', 1920

An endless line of men that tug the rope of a small boat soon disappear into murky, burning red waters beyond. Colour is fantastical, mystical and otherworldly, producing an atmosphere far from reality. This is the Symbolist work of Marianne von Werefkin, part of the German Expressionists that worked in Munich from the 1910s. A movement so often dominated by the male names of the time – Kandinsky especially – Werefkin was a vital participant, expanding the range of art produced and displayed, complementing her work with art theory and written sources, as well as creating her own Salon upon her arrival in Munich. It is easy to get lost in biography with a piece such as this. Wasted, human potential seems to be at the heart of this work, signalled by the endless line of men pushing forward towards the edge of the picture plane. There is a sense of struggle and a universality to the suffering through the portrayal of faceless men in similar blue tones. Looking at the date produced o...

Art and Eye

Search This Blog