I finally made it to the exhibition
“Der Meister von Schloss Lichtenstein und seine Zeit”
In English: The Master of Lichtenstein Castle and his time.
The “Belvedere” started this exhibition at the 08th of November last year and this weekend, at the 23rd of February, this exhibition will close its doors again. I am so glad that I managed to get there and to see the exhibition shortly before it ends again.
Unfortunately taking photos was not allowed in the Belvedere and though the displayed paintings were rather late for my taste – 15th century – I really enjoyed this exhibition.[emember_protected not_for=3-4 do_not_show_restricted_msg=1]… I am sorry, but this content is restricted to users with Advanced and Premium membership.According to the Belvedere website and the text I could read at the walls of the exhibition, “VIENNA 1450 – The Master of Lichtenstein Castle and his Time” shows the works of an anonymous Vienna-based artist from the 15th century. It furthermore shows what happened to many Gothic polyptychs – they were taken apart to be offered for sale on the art market in the 19th and early 20th century. For the very first time the exhibition shows the panels by the Master of Lichtenstein Castle reunited. The painter is unidentified but they could locate the origin of his work in Vienna. He is now known as the Master of Lichtenstein Castle, named after the knight’s castle near Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg – a rather “new” castle which was built in the 18th century and then filled with old masterpieces – like the works of the Master of Lichtenstein. Most interesting for me was that they actually didn’t know that some of this pieces were parts of a Gothic polyptych and were done by one artist – the Master of Lichtenstein.
Btw. all this awesome and vibrant colors – beautifully restored artworks – you would never guess that the paintings are from 1450 – they looks so beautiful and new. *sigh*
Another great fact about this polyptych was how they used infrared and X-ray to put the altar together – the infrared clearly showed the scratches from a missing (Gothic) frame and that the panels were shortened at top and/or bottom. The X-ray showed the figures of the wood and also the planks – this way they could find out which parts were displayed together and by mirroring the X-ray of the other side and comparing the parts to each other they could solve the big “puzzle” and find out where which painted panel had to go… awesome medieval art puzzle *lol*
Btw. for all of you who are interested into this exhibition – they also have a catalogue accompanying this exhibition – sorry, it’s just in German:
I took a look inside the book after I visited the exhibition – 288 pages of pictures and information – yes, this is a big and heavy book. This exhibition catalogue contains a lot of text about the research behind this “puzzle” and many great pictures of the displayed art. I nearly bought it for myself but the 15th century is really a little bit too far away from my point of interest and well, it doesn’t contain any embroidery.
You must be logged in to post a comment.