Caspar (or Kaspar) Isenmann (french: Gaspard Isenmann) was a Gothic painter from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. As the municipal painter of his hometown Colmar and the creator of a major altarpiece for the prestigious St Martin's Church, he was an important representative of the Upper Rhenish school of painting of the mid-15th century and a probable master of

Martin Schongauer Martin Schongauer (c. 1450–53, Colmar – 2 February 1491, Breisach), also known as Martin Schön ("Martin beautiful") or Hübsch Martin ("pretty Martin") by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter. He was the most important ...

Life and work

Isenmann's dates of birth and death are uncertain. He may have been born around 1410. The

Unterlinden Museum The Unterlinden Museum (French: ''Musée Unterlinden'') is located in Colmar, in the Alsace region of France. The museum, housed in a 13th-century Dominican religious sisters' convent and a 1906 former public baths building, is home to the Isenhe ...

of his hometown indicates that he was active around 1430 and died between 1484 and 1490; however the Bibliothèque nationale de France states that Isenmann died on 18 January 1472. Isenmann was first recorded as a painter in 1432. He decorated the municipal

counting board The counting board is the precursor of the abacus, and the earliest known form of a counting device (excluding fingers and other very simple methods). Counting boards were made of stone or wood, and the counting was done on the board with beads, ...

in 1433 and became a

burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

of Colmar in 1435 or 1436. Nothing is known about his teachers but it is assumed that he may have been apprenticed either to

Hans Hirtz Hans Hirtz or Hirtze was a German painter of the late Gothic period, recognized as a major painter by art historians as early as the 16th century. He was active between 1421 and 1463 in Strasbourg and other areas of the Upper Rhine. His years o ...

of Strasbourg or

Konrad Witz Konrad Witz (1400/1410 probably in Rottweil, Germany – winter 1445/spring 1446 in Basel, in current day Switzerland) was a German painter, active mainly in Basel. His 1444 panel '' The Miraculous Draft of Fishes'' (a portion of a lost altarp ...

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

; his art also shows the influence of

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

and his school. After 1450, Isenmann is registered as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

(''

Schöffe A lay judge, sometimes called a lay assessor, is a person assisting a judge in a trial. Lay judges are used in some civil law jurisdictions. Lay judges are appointed volunteers and often require some legal instruction. However, they are not perma ...

'') and in 1461, he is one of the main organizers of a

Mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represe ...

during Corpus Christi. In 1462, Isenmann received a commission to paint a set of panels (

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

on fir wood) for the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

of St Martin's Church, Colmar's main place of worship, and he delivered the finished altarpiece in 1465. Seven of these panels, some mutilated, have survived after the altarpiece was dismantled in 1720 and since 1853 have been housed at the Unterlinden Museum. The contract from 1462, detailing the commission of the altarpiece, survives and is kept in the municipal archive of Colmar. It was signed on 21 June 1462; the painter was guaranteed a payment of 500

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' " gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Emp ...

and requested to complete work in two years, i. e. in 1464. It is not known if the delay in the actual delivery did cost the painter anything. Between 1466 and 1469, Isenmann may have been the teacher of fellow Colmarian,

, whom he acquainted with van der Weyden's paintings. He is also assumed to have taught Martin's brother

Ludwig Schongauer Ludwig Schongauer (c. 1440–1494) was a German painter and engraver. Schongauer was born in Augsburg into an Alsatian family of artists, later settling in Colmar. His father Caspard was a goldsmith, and he had three brothers. Two of his brot ...

. A house in 34, rue des Marchands in Colmar bears the inscription "Zum grienen hus, 1435. Ancienne demeure du maître-peintre Caspar Isenmann" (At the green house, 1435, former dwelling of the master painter Caspar Isenmann).

Gallery

File:Gaspard Isenmann, L’Entrée du Christ à Jérusalem, La Dernière Cène.jpg,

Triumphal entry into Jerusalem In the accounts of the four canonical Gospels, Jesus Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place in the days before the Last Supper, marking the beginning of his Passion, his time of suffering, death, and resurrection celebrated during H ...

;

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

(details from the Colmar Altarpiece) File:Isenmann, Colmar Altarpiece (Arrest of Jesus).jpg,

Arrest of Jesus The arrest of Jesus was a pivotal event in Christianity recorded in the canonical gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set ...

(detail from the Colmar Altarpiece) File:Isenmann, Colmar Altarpiece (Flagellation).jpg,

Flagellation of Christ The Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar, is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the '' Life of C ...

(detail from the Colmar Altarpiece) File:Isenmann, Colmar Altarpiece (Crowning with Thorns).jpg, The

Crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the in ...

(detail from the Colmar Altarpiece) File:UnterlindenRésurrection.png,

Resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...

(detail from the Colmar Altarpiece). The mutilation of the panel can most clearly be seen at the lower right.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isenmann, Caspar 15th-century German painters Gothic painters People from Colmar 1410 births 1472 deaths 1480s deaths Painters from Alsace German male painters

Life and work

See also

Gallery

References

External links