The Resurrection
Mathias Grünewald
As the Renaissance entered its height across Europe, the mysterious German painter Matthias Grünewald looked backwards. Rejecting the classicism of the day, he committed himself to the style of medieval painting that had dominated Northern Europe before Italy’s influence. Gothic works laden with fantastic colours and strange perspectival choices, his paintings are as much about the spiritual as they are the religious, and in his masterpiece, ‘The Isenheim Altarpiece’ from where this work originates, his depiction of Christ is singularly moving. A polyptych, the altarpiece opens across three layers, and includes ten paintings and a series of wooden relief sculptures, beginning with the crucifixion and ending here. The supernatural colours that emanate from Christ’s body, and from the jewel like stigmata on his hands and feet, emphasise the power of his divinity, creating in the viewer not a sense of understanding but one of awe.
Sunday 2nd August
The Moon continues to wane, while still shining brightly in the evening sky. For thousands of years, our ancestors looked up at this same Moon, allowing its changing phases to guide them through the rhythms of the seasons. The Moon is thought to have formed around 4.5 billion years ago, following an enormous collision between the young Earth and another planetary body—an event known as the giant-impact hypothesis. Since then, the life and fertility of the Earth have been closely bound to the Moon’s presence, particularly through its influence on tides, water and natural rhythms. Today, the Moon resides in the constellation of Pisces, bringing a soft, watery quality to the day. This may be reflected in cooler, damper conditions, offering welcome relief to gardens and landscapes in the heat of summer.
Concerning the Spiritual In Art Pt. 1: About General Aesthetic (1911)
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