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Isenheim Altarpiece
Matthias Grünewald · Renaissance & Mannerism
- Artist
- Matthias Grünewald (c. 1470–1528)
- Date
- 1512–1516
- Dimensions
- 269 x 307 cm (central Crucifixion)
- Medium
- Oil on panel
- Location
- Musée Unterlinden, Colmar, France
The Isenheim Altarpiece was painted for the hospital chapel of the Antonite monks at Isenheim in Alsace, who cared for patients suffering from 'St Anthony's fire', a painful disease caused by a fungus in rye bread. Its central image is one of the most harrowing Crucifixions ever painted.
A closer look
Christ hangs on a rough cross against a black sky, his body covered in sores and thorns, his hands contorted in agony, his feet pierced by a single huge nail. The Virgin swoons into the arms of John the Evangelist, and Mary Magdalene kneels wringing her hands, while John the Baptist points to Christ. The sick who looked at it could recognise their own suffering in his. When the wings were opened on feast days, they revealed radiant scenes of the Annunciation, the Nativity and a glowing Resurrection, offering hope.