The Třeboň Altarpiece, also known as Wittingau altarpiece, is one of the most important works of European Gothic panel painting. Of the original large altarpiece retable created in about 1380 by an anonymous Gothic painter called the

Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece __NOTOC__ The Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece (german: Master of Wittingau) was a Bohemian painter active in Prague around 1380–1390. His name is derived from the Třeboň Altarpiece from the church of Saint Eligius at the Augustinian convent ...

, three wings, painted on both sides, have survived. The altarpiece is one of the works that helped towards the emergence of the International Gothic style (called the ''Beautiful Style'' in the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n lands) and which influenced the development of art in a broad European context. It was created for the Augustinian Church of St Giles in Třeboň and is now part of the permanent collection of medieval art of the

National Gallery in Prague The National Gallery Prague ( cz, Národní galerie Praha, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Cze ...

Altarpiece

Reconstruction

Třeboňský oltář, rekonstrukce II (Royt J, 2013)

The three surviving wings could have formed part of a large altarpiece with the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

as its central part. On the missing fourth wing there would most probably have been a scene following on from the

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

of Christ, for example Noli Me Tangere (the altarpiece was consecrated to

St Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

). A number of researchers have focused on reconstructing the arrangement of the panels; variations have been proposed with the central painting of the Crucifixion, similar to smaller works from the

workshop and followers (the ''Crucifixion from St Barbara’s Church'', the ''Crucifixion from Vyšší Brod''), with sculptural decoration or a variation with two paintings similar to the later ''Rajhrad Altarpiece'' (the ''Crucifixion'' and ''Christ Carrying the Cross'') and the ''Graudenz Altarpiece''. The original winged altarpiece could have been more than 3 metres high, with a pair of wings above each other. The open altarpiece, with Passion scenes unified by a red background, invited worshippers to meditate as individuals. The rear side of the wings with paintings of male and female saints, visible when the altar was closed, is most probably connected with the consecration of the church and its chapels, as well as with the patron saints of the order and the holy relics kept in the church.

Material and technique

The quality of the Třeboň Altarpiece's painting is without parallel and represents the technological pinnacle of European painting in the late 14th century. The material, painting technique and panel size (height 132 cm, width 92 cm) are the same in all the surviving panels. The panels are composed of spruce boards joined by pegs and covered on both sides with canvas. The ground is formed by a basic layer of coarser-grained silicate clay and another layer of fine

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. C ...

. The preparatory drawing is executed in brush with iron-red pigment; the engraved lines only mark the architectural elements. The gilding is executed without poliment, using an oily bonding agent. All the gilded areas have the same type of punched decoration. In contrast to earlier panel painting, the painter used

lead white White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2. It is a complex salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite, a hydrate of cerussite. It was ...

underpainting In art, an underpainting is an initial layer of paint applied to a ground, which serves as a base for subsequent layers of paint. Underpaintings are often monochromatic and help to define color values for later painting. Underpainting gets its name ...

only in specific places, instead modelling the portraits and drapery by gradually building up translucent layers of

egg tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

Linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

was used to bond the pigments.

Front side

The composition is dominated by the striking diagonal of the rock faces that divide the central figure of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

from the two accompanying scenes: the sleeping apostles in the foreground and

Judas Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betr ...

bringing the soldiers in the background. The praying Christ has drops of bloody sweat (the

Gospel of St Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. ...

) and the angel presents him with the Cup of Bitterness. The scale of Christ's body stands out from the pictorial space and is not subject to the same order as the others. It is dressed in the brownish robe of a penitent and the modelling in light and chiaroscuro painting suppresses its physical substance. Depicted in a hieratical perspective with the central figure of Christ, the landscape is merely an accompanying part of the composition. In comparison with earlier simplistically depicted crystalline rock faces (the Vyšší Brod (Hohenfurth) cycle) however, this landscape comes closer to reality. Great attention is devoted to the modelling of the terrain and to small details. Christ, who is portrayed as an almost immaterial figure swathed in transparent fabric, is laid in the tomb by

Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical gospels, the man who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. The historical location of Arimathea is uncertain, although it has been identified with several ...

and

Nicodemus Nicodemus (; grc-gre, Νικόδημος, Nikódēmos) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in three places in the Gospel of John: * He first visits Jesus one night to discuss Jesus' teachings (). * The second time Nicodemu ...

. The

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, who is being supported by St John, has the appearance of a young woman. Her blood-spattered headdress recalls Christ's torment on the cross. The woman standing on the left is

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

and, behind her,

Mary of Cleophas According to the Gospel of John, Mary of Clopas ( grc, Μαρία ἡ τοῦ Κλωπᾶ, ''María hē tou Clōpá'') was one of the women present at the crucifixion of Jesus and bringing supplies for his funeral. The expression ''Mary of Clo ...

(the Gospels of St Matthew and

St Luke Luke the Evangelist ( Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of ...

), the mother of St James the Younger, turns towards St John. All the figures experience grief individually. This conception corresponds with the period of the late 14th century and the Augustinian movement

Devotio Moderna Devotio Moderna (Latin; lit., Modern Devotion) was a movement for religious reform, calling for apostolic renewal through the rediscovery of genuine pious practices such as humility, obedience, and simplicity of life. It began in the late 14th-cen ...

that encouraged the faithful to seek personal piety. Along with the rocks and rock ravine, the sarcophagus creates a striking diagonal that deepens space. Details in the landscape and the illusive painting of the marble sarcophagus are painstakingly executed. Christ in his glory as the Redeemer and a levitating divine manifestation is freed of all bodily and earthly weight. He is immobile and exists outside earthly time, however the shadow he casts behind him recalls his human origin. The Easter miracle of the

is also symbolised by the unbroken seals on the sarcophagus. Christ is made vividly present to believers by the amazed expressions on the faces of the guards who have been woken up. The iconographic scheme of the Resurrection with a closed and sealed tomb has a literary origin. It became important and influential through the interpretation of St Augustine in particular. This specific interpretation can also be a reference to one of Konrad Waldhauser's Easter sermons. The diagonal is suppressed in this composition in order to place greater emphasis on the vertical figure of

. The radiant colours with the dominant red of the robe and the light that Christ radiates contrast with the grey background of the landscape that is the setting in which earthly figures are situated. Red has symbolic meaning as the colour of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

as also as the colour of victory on Christ's banner.

Reverse panels

The original arrangement in all likelihood respected the heavenly hierarchy (according to

Pseudo-Dionysius Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum' ...

): the apostles, male and female saints (Confessors). On the missing fourth wing there could have been figures of martyr saints (such as

St Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

, St. Callixtus and

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

). The painter represented striking types of faces that were noble, serious and inwardly focused. He also depicted rich garments pleated into complex folds. The faces of the saints have an individual appearance and their psychological state of ‘exalted spiritualisation’ is also portrayed. In terms of their portrait character and the time they were made, these faces have much in common with Petr Parler’s busts in the triforium of St Vitus Cathedral. The stylisation of the drapery is plastic, though it no longer maintains a functional connection with the body. The colour scheme is more symbolic in character and lacking in major contrasts. It thus anticipates the International Gothic style, which is a synthesis of precise observation and free imagination, individual characterisation and a universal idealised type. The female saints are portrayed under an architectural canopy with a decorated relief. The figures themselves are not firmly fixed on the ground and their robes do not trace their figures; instead, they are a loose play of folds. The faces of the saints represent the period ideal of female beauty and they are physiognomically differentiated.

, to whom the altarpiece was consecrated, occupies the place of honour in the centre.

St Giles Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...

was the saint to whom the Třeboň church was consecrated;

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

and

St Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...

(the translator of the Bible) were venerated as

Fathers of the Church The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

and

Patron Saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

s of the Augustinian Canons. Three of Christ's twelve apostles. The feast of St James, who is attributed with a vision of the resurrected Christ, is celebrated together with the feast of St Phillip.

St Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...

was a close friend of St Phillip and became an apostle after meeting the resurrected Christ. The reason for choosing these three saints could be connected with the relics that were venerated at the Church of St Giles in Třeboň.

Painting style

The

follows on from the earlier panel painting of

Master Theodoric Master Theodoric, in Latin Magister Theodoricus (before 1328? - before March 8, 1381, Prague, active - ca. 1360–1380) was a Bohemian painter. He is the best documented Bohemian Gothic painter. He was the favourite court painter of Charles IV, ...

of the 1360s and 1370s. He also followed on from the wall paintings of

Karlštejn Castle Karlštejn Castle ( cs, hrad Karlštejn; german: Burg Karlstein) is a large Gothic castle founded in 1348 by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor-elect and King of Bohemia. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as well ...

, in particular the

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

series in the Chapel of the

. It is possible that the anonymous

was initially active in

’s workshop, where he would have also learned about Franco-Flemish art through Nicholas Wurmser of Strasbourg. Colour, which predominated over drawing, became his chief means of expression. He achieved the deepening of colour tone through the gradual application of translucent layers. The painter abandoned the linear drawing-based style and used soft colour tones and

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

painting in which light, falling from somewhere above, unifies the picture and works more as a principle than a natural phenomenon. By using chiaroscuro, he achieves the suppression of the outline, the dematerialisation of the figure of Christ and its release from the space of the picture. In the

, he was one of the first painters to depict a cast

shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two- dimensional silhouett ...

. Interest in details and elements observed from reality are typical of Franco-Flemish art, as is the symbolic red background with gold stars replacing the night sky in the Passion series. The soft and plastic landscape comes close to reality, but only creates an accompanying scene and is an expression of transcendental idealism – an illustration of a

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...

ascending to heaven. The artist's personal aim is the emotional impact of the picture, the emotional interpretation of religious themes and a profound personal experience as well as an effort to achieve the extreme refinement of the human appearance. With its overall softening of portrayal, transcending of localised colour and bringing the image closer to specific optical experience, this work marks the nascence of the International Gothic and its Bohemian variation – the Beautiful Style. The work of the

is marked by aestheticizing trends characteristic of certain forms of expression in the 1370s and 1380s (Heinrich of Gmünd, wall paintings), by a harmony of proportion between forms and colour, as well as by a greater degree of stylisation. According to Augustine's theocentric aesthetics, bodily beauty is a mere glint of the higher beauty; it is subject to time and changes while true beauty is absolute and beyond time (Conversations of the Soul with God, chapter 5). St Augustin brought closer, and almost made identical, the notion of art and the notion of beauty; and, in this sense, he saw the mission and function of art in the creation of beauty. The

Augustinian Order Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

became the bearer of the

, an orientation combining a deepened personal piety with Augustinian beliefs and early

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

, and also placing great emphasis on aesthetic values. The supreme beauty of the faces of the International Gothic female saints and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

s is a beauty beyond earthly space and time. The Třeboň Master used an expressional evaluation of artistic convention that is characteristic of a period of transformation in style. The composition of all the panels of the Passion series is based on a striking diagonal directed towards the central part of the altarpiece. The deepened space is not constructed according to optical laws; instead, the impression of depth is evoked by the diagonally inserted substance of the rock faces and sarcophagus.Kutal A, 1972, p. 127

is the central figure of each composition; he also stands out from the typology of the other figures, divided as they are between the ugly, realistic faces of the soldiers and the beautiful, soft faces of the female saints and the

The history of the altarpiece

It was most probably

Jan of Jenštejn Jan z Jenštejna, german: Johann II. von Jenstein, Johannes VI. von Jenstein. Johann von Jenzenstein, Johann von Genzenstein (1348 in Prague, Bohemia, Crown of Bohemia – 17 June 1400 in Rome) was the Archbishop of Prague from 1379 to 1396. He st ...

, the third Prague

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

, who recommended the painter to the

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–1 ...

Roudnice Roudnice is a municipality and village in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. Etymology The name is derived from the red shades of color (in Czech ''rudá'') of the water in ...

(the Roudnice Madonna) who founded the monastery in Třeboň. A written record of the consecration of the altarpiece in 1378 (A.D. MCCCLXXVIII consecratum est hoc altare...) has survived. The altarpiece was dismantled in 1730; in the place where it had stood, relics connected with the consecration of the Church of

were discovered. The individual panels were dispersed to smaller churches in the surrounding area. The first two panels (The Mount of Olives, The Resurrection) come from the church in Svatá Majdalena near Třeboň, where they were discovered by J. A. Beck (1843); they were rescued by Jan Erazim Wocel (1858). In 1872 they were purchased by Count A. Kaunic and JUDr. K. Schäffner for the Picture Gallery of the Society of Patriotic Friends of Art. The third panel (The Entombment) from the chapel in Domanín, where in 1895 it served as an altar painting, was acquired for the state collection in 1921.

Related works

File:Madona mezi sv. Bartolomějem a sv. Markétou (kolem 1390), AJG Hluboká nad Vltavou.jpg, Madonna between St Bartholomew and St Margaret, Aleš South Bohemian Gallery in Hluboká nad Vltavou File:Trůnící madona s dítětem, 1390-1395, Národní galerie v Praze, inv. č. O 17326.jpg, Enthroned Madonna from Hradec Králové,

File:Epitaf Jana z Jeřeně - Sedící Madona, Anonym - Praha (1395), Národní galerie v Praze, inv. č. O 11676.jpg, Madonna, Epitaph of Jan of Jeřeň,

File:Epitaf Jana z Jeřeně - Sv. Bartoloměj, sv.Tomáš, Anonym - Praha (1395), Národní galerie v Praze, inv. č. O 1268.jpg, St Bartholomew, St Thomas, Epitaph of Jan of Jeřeň,

Notes

Sources

* Prof. PhDr. Ing. Jan Royt, PhD, Mistr Třeboňského oltáře (

), dissertation thesis to acquire the academic title ‘Doctor of Sciences’ in the history sciences group, Institute of Art History of the

Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague The Faculty of Arts, Charles University ( cs, Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy), is one of the original four faculties of Charles University in Prague. When founded, it was named the Faculty of the Liberal Arts or the Artistic Faculty. The f ...

, Institute of the History of Christian Art,

Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic The Czech Academy of Sciences (abbr. CAS, cs, Akademie věd České republiky, abbr. AV ČR) was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and its tradition goes back ...

, 2014 * Jan Royt, Mistr Třeboňského oltáře, Karolinum Press, Prague 2014, * Mojmír Svatopluk Frinta, Punched Decoration on Late Medieval Panel and Miniature Painting, Maxdorf, Prague, 1998 * Jaromír Homolka, Poznámky k Třeboňskému mistrovi (Notes on the Třeboň Master), SBORNÍK PRACÍ FILOZOFICKÉ FAKULTY BRNĚNSKÉ UNIVERZITY nthology of Works of the Faculty of Arts of Brno University STUDIA MINORA FACULTATIS PHILOSOPHICAE UNIVERSITATIS BRUNENSIS, F 23/24, 1979/80 * Přibíková Helena, Mistr Třeboňského oltáře, Pokus o genesi jeho tvorby v českém výtvarném a duchovním prostředí doby Karla IV. he Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece, An Attempt at Ascertaining the Genesis of His Work in the Bohemian Artistic and Spiritual Milieu of the Era of Charles IV graduation thesis, Philosophy Faculty of Charles University, 1972 * Albert Kutal, České gotické umění (Bohemian Gothic Art), Artia/Obelisk, Prague 1972 * Jaroslav Pešina (ed.), České umění gotické 1350-1420 (Bohemian Gothic Art 1350-1420), Academia, Prague 1970 * Vladimír Denkstein, František Matouš, Jihočeská gotika (South Bohemian Gothic), SNKLHU Prague, 1953 * Antonín Matějček, Jaroslav Pešina, Česká malba gotická (Bohemian Gothic Painting), Melantrich, Prague 1950, pp. 89–101 * Antonín Matějček, Le Maître de Trebon, Les Peintres Célèbres. Geneva-Paris, 1948

External links

Encyclopaedia Brittanica: Master of Wittingau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trebon Altarpiece 1380s paintings Czech gothic paintings Paintings depicting Jesus Paintings depicting Mary Magdalene Paintings depicting Saint Peter Paintings of the Virgin Mary Polyptychs Paintings in the collection of the National Gallery Prague Paintings of the Resurrection of Christ