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Striking a rare balance between formal elegance and expressive strength
the sculpture of Tilman Riemenschneider (ca
1460–1531) is anchored in the late Gothic tradition while also reflecting emerging humanist concerns
This international loan exhibition brings together many of the sculptor's finest works from throughout his career
Highly regarded in Europe for his technical virtuosity in wood and stone
and for his sensitive blending of religious subject matter with a deeply felt appreciation for humanity
Riemenschneider is among the major artists of his time
Riemenschneider developed a highly personalized artistic vision of his own
Working in Würzburg from about 1483 until 1531
he was one of the first sculptors to abandon polychromy (the application of color to sculpture) on selected works
Placing several figures that have retianed much of their polychromy side by side with his natural wooden sculptures
as well as exquisite works in alabaster and sandstone
the exhibition illustrates the incredible range and mastry Riemenshneider achieved in his work
While the details of the sculptor's life remain largely undocumented
it is known that he was born in Heiligenstadt
When he moved to the Franconian town of Würzburg in 1483 to work in a sculptor's workshop
he acquired the title of "master," which allowed him to open a workshop of his own
and was awarded with numerous commissions from throughout Franconia
A respected member of Würzburg society
Riemenschneider served on the municipal council
and was even elected mayor for a year in 1520
His personal as well as professional career came to an abrupt halt
As a member of the municipal council that opposed the prince-bishop of Würzburg
who wished to move his troops into the town and use it as a center of defense in the uprising
Riemenschneider was imprisoned and possibly tortured
Although he is listed as having performed minor repairs on some sculptures in 1528
no new carvings are known to have been made by him after the Revolt
The first-ever international presentation of the sculptor's life and work
the exhibition includes sixty sculptures representing forty-five ensembles from museums
and private collections in Europe and America
The inclusion of a few outstanding works by Riemenschneider's most important predecessors and contemporaries—such as Niclaus Gerhaert von Leiden
and Veit Stoss—allows his achievement to be viewed in its proper context
Noteworthy among the polychrome sculpture in the exhibition is a group of four figures—two works representing deacons
from the collection of the Historisches Museum in Frankfurt am Main—thought to have been carved for the same altarpiece
Other figures that once belonged to the same ensembles but have long since been dispersed are also on view: among the most notable are two groups from a monumental altarpiece depicting the Holy Kinship (the family of the Virgin Mary)
lent by the Württembergisches Landesmuseum
The display of two virtually unpublished Female Saints in private collections
shown with a third figure from the same retable (altarpiece)
The Skulpturensammlung of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin agreed to the unprecedented loan of twelve key works
including such masterpieces as the Noli me Tangere and the Evangelists (Saint Matthew
and Saint John) from Riemenschneider's Münnerstadt altarpiece (1490–1492)
Four works from the permanent collection of the Metropolitan—among them the limewood Seated Bishop
a striking depiction of the physiognomy of an old man—are also on view
The broad range of Riemenschneider's artistic production is illustrated by elements from altarpieces
Like other great sculptors of the late Middle Ages
Riemenschneider was proficient in a variety of materials—wood as well as stone
The impressive Enthroned Saint Anne with the Virgin and Child ("Anna Selbdritt")
bears eloquent witness to the sculptor's mastery of sandstone sculpture
The exhibition also reunites Riemenschneider's five extant carvings in alabaster
exquisite works that are relatively little known
To place Riemenschneider's achievements within a broader context
the exhibition also includes several particularly fine works by his most important predecessors
Riemenschneider's conception of sculpture as a "kinetic" experience—in which the viewer is drawn to move around the work either physically or with the mind's eye—derived from Niclaus Gerhaert von Leiden (active 1460–73
who is represented in the exhibition by an exquisite boxwood carving of the Standing Virgin and Child
as exemplified by the countenance and pose of Erhart's tender and pensive Seated Virgin and Child
Riemenschneider's intimate familiarity with the work of engraver Martin Schongauer (1445 or 1450–1491) is apparent in the rich tonal range of his sculpture
as demonstrated in the exhibition by the juxtapostion to several works on paper
The exhibition is made possible in part by Bayerische Landesbank
The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
An indemnity has been granted by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities
Education programs have been supported in part by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation
The exhibition catalogue is made possible by the Doris Duke Fund for Publications
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