BERLIN—Gothic sculptors had God in mind with every piece that they made. Their carefully crafted sculptures, illustrating the Bible and the lives of saints, formed an important part of church architecture—cementing the word of God into the heart of man.
Architects, artists, and artisans ensured everything in the church glorified God, so that even the illiterate could understand the word of God.
In his article “Erwin Panofsky’s Gothic Architecture,” Benedictine monk Daniel J. Heisey distills some of the 20th-century art critic’s work.
“Panofsky’s insight was that through proportion and distinction of parts, a Gothic cathedral was as solid and precise in its service of Catholic doctrine as was the treatise of a Scholastic theologian.”
Art museums and galleries around the world now contain fragments of these church stories in carvings, sculptures, and other architectural motifs. We appreciate the beauty of those pieces isolated from their original church architecture, like reading a line of verse without knowing the whole poem.
Tillman Riemenschneider’s four evangelists, from the altarpiece of the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Münnerstadt, Bavaria, is a classic example. Last year, I admired these carvings at the Bode Museum in Berlin. The figures had once been part of the church’s predella (the lowest part of the altarpiece). The evangelists are displayed in the order that their gospels appear in the Bible—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The replica figures on display in the church’s predella today follow this order too.
Riemenschneider (circa 1460–1531) worked in a time of artistic transition, the Northern Renaissance (around 1380–1580). His figures typify the Gothic style that he was trained in, championing sublimely expressive works over anatomical accuracy, and creating art that appeals to the emotions, whether terror, awe, or religious fervor.
Riemenschneider carved the four figures in limewood, his favored medium. He was among the first artists to leave his figures unadorned by paint or metal leaf, preferring to give them a light wax. Each piece alone speaks volumes. He carved each evangelist so as to symbolize the work that he did. Mark and Luke are dressed as contemporary, humanist scholars indicating pious learning, and Matthew and John are dressed in ancient robes hinting that these are the apostles.
He included the beasts that are symbolic of each evangelist, carving Mark with a winged lion and Luke with a winged ox. He made separate carvings of John’s eagle and Matthew’s angel; these were directly attached to the predella, but are now lost.
The museum’s curators have a wooden mock-up of the Münnerstadt Altarpiece on display, showing where the four evangelists fit into the overall altarpiece theme of the life of Mary Magdalene, who is mentioned in the gospel of each of the four evangelists. Together, the scenes show us that even sinners can repent and become saints.
Displayed together, Riemenschneider’s four evangelists form a cohesive group. Each figure appears to interact with another, with their bodies turning to the middle, above which would be the central altarpiece panel (corpus) showing angels carrying Mary Magdalene to heaven, flanked by St. Kilian and St. Elizabeth of Thuringia.
Shutters of painted or decorative reliefs flank the corpus. The two panels on the left wing show “Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene” (top) and “Christ in the House of Simon,” and the two on the right wing show “Mary Magdalene’s Last Communion” (top) and “Mary Magdalene’s Burial.” The shutters are open on Sundays and other holy days.
According to the Bode Museum, engraver Martin Schongauer’s woodblock prints inspired many of Riemenschneider’s sculptures. For instance, in this altarpiece, Riemenschneider’s sculptural relief “Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene” bears a striking resemblance to Schongauer’s print “Christ Appearing to the Magdalene.” This is the scene often referred to as “Noli me Tangere,” where the resurrected Christ tells Magdalene not to touch him, for he hasn’t yet ascended to his father in heaven.
The altarpiece tracery stretches another two levels above the corpus. Directly above the corpus, the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist flank the trinity. Higher into the heavens of the tracery stands St. John the Baptist.
Riemenschneider’s four evangelists have long been removed from the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, yet the sculptor’s sacred intent for the figures springs forth from the works, demanding an eternal reverence beyond words.
