05/1/18
I have always been amazed by Altarpieces–the sheer scale, the impactful images, and their beautiful rendering–and have imagined what an experience it must be to stand before one of these masterpieces in person. I was also intrigued by how some of these Altarpieces were placed in hospitals, a place where the sick of the sixteenth century went to die. A specific altarpiece has caught my attention recently: Matthias Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece, c. 1510, oil on panel, Monastery of St. Anthony which is currently on display in the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, Alsace, in France. In this paper, I will argue that the iconography of the Isenheim Altarpiece prepared its viewers for death, by bringing them comfort, fortifying their faith, and reassuring them of the afterlife.
To begin the process of relaying the relationship of the Isenheim Altarpiece to the viewer it is important to first understand what the images of the altarpiece are portraying. The altarpiece has three different position: a closed position, middle positions, and a final completely opened position. In the closed position, the Crucifixion is front and center; Christ is surrounded by biblical figures, the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Saint John and John the Baptist. The center image is then flanked by two wings featuring Saint Sebastian on the Left and Saint Anthony on the right. The predella of the altarpiece features the Lamentation of Christ. Most of the time the altarpiece would have been seen only in its closed position except for on specific days of significance. The middle position displays the life of Jesus Christ from the Annunciation, to his birth in the Nativity, and to his rebirth in the Resurrection. The scene of the Nativity would be shown around Christmas. In its completely opened position, the center and predella feature sculptures that were done by the workshop of Nicolas de Haguenau, the subjects are Saint Anthony with Saint Augustine and Jerome to either side while the predella features Christ and his Apostles. To the left of the sculptures is a panel that depicts the meeting of Saint Anthony with Paul the Hermit, and the panel to the right is the scene of the Temptation of Saint Anthony.
The Isenheim Altarpiece is surrounded by hospital context. It was commissioned by the Antonite monastery in Isenheim, a monastery named after the Saint of healing, Saint Anthony. Saint Anthony has also been featured in other hospital altarpieces such as the Beaune Altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden. This monastery focused on treating those afflicted with Saint Anthony's Fire, which is now known by the name Ergotism–a disease that can be contracted by consuming poisoned rye. The audience of the altarpiece were patients suffering from ergotism and in the final days, weeks, or months of their lives. They would wait for their eventual death oftentimes watching their limbs become gangrenous and deteriorate before them. In the image of the Temptation of Saint Anthony there is one figure that shares the same malady of the patients: a web-footed demon with a swollen stomach covered in what seem to be boils. Not much could be done to treat this disease effectively, and the main purpose of hospitals were to bring patients pain relief, company, and a state of consolation and hope in their final days. The Isenheim Altarpiece alludes to possible treatments that were used in an attempt to cure ergotism. Amputation was used to remove gangrenous limbs, and this is thought to be referenced in the predella’s Lamentation where the two panels were possibly meant to slide apart at Christ’s knees. The altarpiece also features plants and herbs that were used in recipes for vinegars and balsams that helped to alleviate some of the symptoms of ergotism. These plants can be found at the feet of Saint Anthony and Paul the Hermit. There is also the presence of jewelry containing red stones, which can be seen on the rings worn by the musical angels. Stones the color of blood like rubies and garnets were thought to stop hemorrhaging and reduce the effect of wounds. The presence of these symbols get across the idea that the altarpiece was made with the patients in mind, and how their carers were using the best of their knowledge to help them and alleviate some of their suffering while they wait for the end. They may have found comfort in being recognized and acknowledged, especially when an illness like ergotism can be so isolating.
There are many figures featured in the Isenheim Altarpiece, so I will be focusing on a few and how they could have aided the sick. Saint Anthony, the saint that the monastery is named after, is a reoccurring figure in the Altarpiece, especially in the altar’s last open position. As a sculpture, he is seen taking the position of a judge with the power to dispense judgment, as even though he was thought to have the ability to heal, he was also thought to punish with illness. Since illness was often thought of as a punishment or manifestation of sin, perhaps the viewers thought they were paying for their own sins. But the viewer’s disease was seen as a test of fate, leading him or her to fear not pain, suffering, or death itself, but rather the possibility that he or she could lose faith in God. This is implied by an inscription found on the cartello of the Temptation of Saint Anthony that reads "Where were you good Jesus, where were you? Why were you not there to heal my wounds?” But with Saint Anthony as an exemplary figure, they learned that the lord was always watching over them and waiting till they learned obedience and true faith to reach convergence. Another recurring figure is the Virgin Mary: one more example for the beholder to learn from. Her humble service and whole bodied acceptance of God, symbolized by the Annunciation, is seen as something for Christians to strive and try to embody themselves. It is possible that patients looked to follow her example of taking Christ in spiritually and eventually find salvation. On the right side of the Crucifixion panel, John the Baptist is present, which has been questioned by scholars multiple times due to his presence being unchronological. It is, however, possible that his presence alludes to the healing powers of water and, more specifically, baptism. It is known that the monastery was close to mineral springs that were used to treat leprosy and epilepsy. Even though there are no records of the springs being used to treat ergotism, it is suggested that was a possibility by the previous statement. There were also baptisms specifically conducted for those afflicted with illness that would include Ordos for healing to be recited during the sacrament. A lot of the meaning behind John the Baptist ties in with purification of the body and soul, a form of purification is the sacrament of baptism, which is seen as a symbol that the believer has faith and believes in God. These figures: The Virgin Mary, Saint Anthony, and John the Baptist teach the beholder how his or her faith in God must be unwavering, unquestioning and all accepting of God so that he or she may reach heaven.
Jesus Christ is the figure that the beholder was meant to contemplate the most. When the Isenheim Altarpiece is closed, the Crucifixion is visible–and would remain visible for most of the year. The patients would have seen this image of the suffering Christ for the majority of their time at the monastery. Christ was painted sharing the symptoms of ergotism with the patients, similar to the demon from the Temptation of Saint Anthony. He is nailed to the cross, his hands writhing in pain. The image is described as brutal and empty of all hope. Christ himself appears hopeless and this feeling is one that the patients could relate to–stuck in a bed for days and in constant pain with no sign of improvement, forced to watch themselves decay away. Illness can bring isolation to its victims. The image of the Crucifixion is so much more impactful to the beholder simply because of its setting, a place where the attendees are marked for death, and it allowed the people to find a community so that they would not have to suffer their pain alone. The patients were also encouraged to identify with Christ because they shared the pain, and in a way, Christ was a form of company for them. Christ was the instrument of God with a mission to atone for the sins of his people. The patients probably looked at this image with deep gratitude because Christ sacrificed his own life for the salvation of his people, his people being the viewers themselves. The Crucifixion made the patients confront that their death would eventually reach them by depicting the moment of Christ’s death and the moment after death with the Lamentation. However, the Crucifixion was also a beacon of hope for those who knew of what comes after. An image of the worst torment Christ suffered was turned into an image of his Redemption; that victory was hidden among the darkness and despair and gave support to the beholder going through their own hardship. Patients at the hospital were encouraged to see their own suffering as the cross they bare just as Christ bared his own. They were also invited to see their pain as a form of partaking in the passion and path to salvation. The Lamentation shows the destroyed and decaying body of the already dead Christ, but the image of his body in this state alludes to his miraculous resurrection. The Resurrection of Christ gave the beholder a destiny to look forward to for his or her own mutilated body. It also reassured the viewer that his or her suffering and death are not meaningless and that victory is possible through adversity. Grunewald was able to paint Christ with such intensity that Christ is seen as almost emanating light in his rebirth, his body anew without any signs of his bodily suffering. The only signs of Christ’s earthly suffering being the holes of his hands and feet that are described as shining with a healing light. The beholders were already familiar with the story of Christ’s life, from his holy conception to his resurrection, and even though the Crucifixion is a very agonizing image to behold, the viewers were aware of what was to come and this gruesome image was one of hope. It is possible the story of Christ’s victory and redemption reassured the sick people of the monastery that they too will triumph over their illness and death, and gain redemption in heaven.
One can only wonder what it must have been like to lay before Grunewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece, its shadow looming over as the images force thoughts of illness, mortality and the afterlife. The Isenheim Altarpiece assisted in preparing its viewers to take on death. It shed light onto the suffering of the patients at the monastery, displaying figures sharing their illness, bringing them hope of relief hinted by symbols alluding to possible treatments for their ailment. It provided the viewers with exemplary figures like Saint Anthony, The Virgin Mary, and John the Baptist, figures with a faith in God that the viewers themselves should aim to embody, and reminders that regardless what trials they may confront their faith must not weaver. It reassured the ill that their suffering and death is not the end, and that even though they may have been paying for their sins, at the end of the torment there will be redemption in the kingdom of God. A reminder that Christ sacrificed himself for the salvation of his people and that his sacrifice was not in vain. With the assistance of the Isenheim Altarpiece, the Antonite monastery made the final days of the sick easier to bare and helped the patients get closer to their rebirth in the afterlife.