Matthias Grünewald is one of the artists whose life and career is largely unknown. He became famous only after his death. He was probably born in Würzburg around the year 1480. Albrecht Dürer and Hans Fyoll, whose journeyman he is even said to have been, are regarded as his teachers and inspiration. Grünewald's first surviving works were created in 1504 and he apparently painted exclusively biblical and Christian motifs on canvas. Like many of his contemporaries, he worked for various patrons, such as the Archbishops of Mainz Jakob von Liebenstein and Ulrich von Gemmingen. He was also not only employed as a painter. It is handed down that Matthias Grünewald was also a talented and sought-after fountain builder.
He became known to posterity primarily for his triptych, the Isenheim Altarpiece. Completed in 1516, it leaves the viewer to this day full of wonder about the realistic and above all apocryphal representation of various stations of the Passion of Jesus Christ and consequently offers diverse scope for interpretation. Particularly noteworthy is Grünewald's haptic balancing of the light and dark contrasts. This ensures, above all, that the attention to detail of this work can demonstrate an almost unparalleled depth for the time.
Only about a dozen of his paintings and some drawings have survived. Also Grünewald left no theoretical treatises or other records. However, even this fragmentary work shows that he was one of the great masters of his guild, who during his lifetime probably hardly reaped the fame that his famous contemporaries Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach dem Älteren. Towards the end of his life, Grünewald even seemed to have taken leave of painting altogether. It is speculated that in the end he devoted himself to soap making. He finally died in Halle an der Saale on August 31, 1528.
Matthias Grünewald is one of the artists whose life and career is largely unknown. He became famous only after his death. He was probably born in Würzburg around the year 1480. Albrecht Dürer and Hans Fyoll, whose journeyman he is even said to have been, are regarded as his teachers and inspiration. Grünewald's first surviving works were created in 1504 and he apparently painted exclusively biblical and Christian motifs on canvas. Like many of his contemporaries, he worked for various patrons, such as the Archbishops of Mainz Jakob von Liebenstein and Ulrich von Gemmingen. He was also not only employed as a painter. It is handed down that Matthias Grünewald was also a talented and sought-after fountain builder.
He became known to posterity primarily for his triptych, the Isenheim Altarpiece. Completed in 1516, it leaves the viewer to this day full of wonder about the realistic and above all apocryphal representation of various stations of the Passion of Jesus Christ and consequently offers diverse scope for interpretation. Particularly noteworthy is Grünewald's haptic balancing of the light and dark contrasts. This ensures, above all, that the attention to detail of this work can demonstrate an almost unparalleled depth for the time.
Only about a dozen of his paintings and some drawings have survived. Also Grünewald left no theoretical treatises or other records. However, even this fragmentary work shows that he was one of the great masters of his guild, who during his lifetime probably hardly reaped the fame that his famous contemporaries Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach dem Älteren. Towards the end of his life, Grünewald even seemed to have taken leave of painting altogether. It is speculated that in the end he devoted himself to soap making. He finally died in Halle an der Saale on August 31, 1528.
Page 1 / 2