♰ Blog Posts ♰
1. La Poupee
2. Aunt Ruth
3. Garage (1999)
4. Jean Paul Gaultier SS07
5. Self Trepanation
6.Issenheim Altarpiece
7.Garden of Earthly Delights
8.Butcher Bunny
9.Star Maker
10. The Creature
♰ Information
The Isenheim Altarpiece is a oil polyptych made by German Painter Mattias Grunewald. It depicts the crucifixition of Jesus in the first view, the birth and resurrection of Jesus in the second view and St Anthony with other saints in the final view. This painting was made for the Monastery of St. Anthony in Issenheim which specialized in hospital work for the terminally ill. The Monastery took care of plague victims and most notable cases of ergotism or St.Anthony’s fire.
Ergotism is when a person is poisoned by eating something contaminated with the fungus C. purpurea. It is most commonly acquired through consuming spoiled rye. Ergotism at this time was a life sentence, and had severe, excruciating symptoms. Convulsions, gangrene, an intense burning sensation (hence the name St. Anthony’s Fire), loss of limbs, and disturbing hallucinations characterized this illness.
This painting intrigues me because of how grim it looks compared to what it was comissioned for. Its pretty wild to my contempary view that such a grotesque portrait of Christ suffering was mean’t to comfort people on the verge of death. Jesus’ limbs are contorted in a way not depicted in art until this painting, he is covered in lesions, as well as his skin taking on a green hue, making him look deathly ill. Christ being painted this way was to help the patients have a comforting figure to identify with. As Christ is reborn, his ailments are healed, he is a symbol of hope in such a bleak environment.
1512-1516
Detail Shots and other views of the altar piece