@medievalaustria and @um_1504 team up again and reactivate their #ForegroundBackground series. The occasion is the current exhibition @kunsthistorischesmuseumvienna about Holbein, Burgkmair and Dürer, in cooperation with @staedelmuseum, where it was shown from Nov. 2023 to Feb. 2024. So we’re able to see the same works in different places.
Background: We’ll make your Sunday more pleasant with a real Hans Holbein the Elder! The panel painting on fir wood dates from 1490 and iconographically depicts the burial of St Afra. The panel was once part of an altarpiece dedicated to the patron saint of Augsburg, which suggests that it was made for an Augsburg church. However, more recent research suggests that it was originally placed in the church of St Afra-in-Felde near Friedberg or in the mortuary dedicated to St Afra in the Eichstätt bishop’s palace. What is certain is that this is one of the artist’s earliest works. Nevertheless, it was reproduced by the Westphalian engraver Israhel van Meckenem and spread as a motif far beyond Augsburg.
Foreground: Colourful veils, wild hats and devout altar boys. What looks so normal at first glance turns out to be an exciting potpourri of outfits that we shouldn’t adopt for our hobby, as coloured veils are absolutely not the norm, and the same applies to dresses that fasten with buttons. These are very rarely seen. What is more common in the upper Rhine region, are overdresses such as those on the front left or with short sleeves with fringes. However, the latter are more likely to be seen on saints and not in secular surroundings. The men in the background are dressed in a more everyday style: “Röcke” with slightly wider collars, once even with a slit on the sleeve to slip out. But be careful: here, too, the headgear is very orientalising!
#holbein #um1504 #medievalaustria #kunsthistorischesmuseumvienna #städelmuseum #handholbeintheelder #stafra #augsburg #15thcentury #latemedievalart #medievalpainting #medievalfashion #15thcenturyfashion #medievalaltarpiece