The Meaning and Function of the Isenheim Altarpiece: The Hospital Context Revisited Author(s): Andre Hayum Reviewed

work(s): Source: The Art Bulletin, Vol. 59, No. 4 (Dec., 1977), pp. 501-517 Published by: College Art Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3049705 . Accessed: 08/02/2012 13:08
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of and The Meaning Function the Isenheim Altarpiece: ContextRevisited* The Hospital
Andr&e Hayum
A vast literature exists on Matthias Griinewald's Isenheim Altarpiece. Yet mystery and mystique still surround this monument and its artist. When I began to examine the altarpieceseveralyearsago, I soon suspectedthat perhapseven the few known facts about this masterpiece had not received the kind of attention that could yield both a plausible and a synthetic history. For example, a late eighteenth-century description informs us of the original arrangementof the altarpiece (cf. Fig. 1). But since the beginning of art history as an academic discipline, the panels have been installed in a dismantledstate in the Musee d'Unterlinden in Colmar.' Thus, many studies give only a fragmentary reading of the work, fueled by the searchfor literaryor artistic sourcesto explain the details of its extraordinary imagery. I found that by using the eighteenthcentury descriptionto maintain a constant awarenessof how a given section related to the other panels, one makes considerableprogressin arrivingat a many-leveledinterpretato tion that seems appropriate such a work.2 In addition to my conviction of the importance of the original structure of the altarpiece in establishing concordances and cross-referencesof form and meaning, I have felt committed to considering this monument as a functioning totality within a living context.3 Naturally, that context is many-faceted as well. Commissioned between 1508 and 1516 by the Antonite monastery at Isenheim, the altarpiece originally stood on the main altar of the monastery church, and we could firstof all locate its function within the general liturgy.4Fornow, however, I want to continue the reexamination of what is known by taking into account that the Antonite monasterywas part of a hospital orderdevoted to the care of the sick.s Although this fact is invariablymentioned in the literature,it has tended to be viewed as an isolatabledetail in analysesof the work's meaning and purpose.I should like to instead that it was a powerfulmotivating force in the propose commission, providing a principal component in the icono-

The Shrine

S- Framework -

Meeting of Anthonywith Paul

Saint Augustine

Saint Anthony

Saint Jerome

Temptationof Anthony

the Christ and TwelveApostles

TheMiddle Position

Annunciation

Angelic Concert

Madonnaand Child

Resurrection

*The following is to be part of a monographon the Isenheim Altarpiece. For this study I have received financial assistance in the form of a National Endowment for the Humanities Younger Humanist Fellowship and a FordhamUniversity Faculty Fellowship, as well as grants from the Ingram Merrill Foundation and the Samuel H. KressFoundation. Many of these ideas were first put forth in a paper delivered at the Table Ronde Internationale: "Griinewald et son oeuvre," Strasbourg-Colmar, October 1974. My thanks to Professor Albert Chatelet for inviting me to participate in this conference and in the eventual publication of the papers in a special issue of Cahiers alsaciens d'archdologie, d'art, et d'histoire, XIX, 1975-76, 77-90. The body of this text was presented as a lecture at the Institute of Fine Arts, New YorkUniversity, in April of 1976. I am grateful to ProfessorLotte Brand Philip for several specific comments and suggestions based on that lecture, and to Professors Rosalind Krauss and Elizabeth Parker for their editorial advice. N.B.: A bibliographyof frequently cited sourcesfollows the footnotes. I C. Champion, Le Mus&ed'Unterlinden & Colmar, Paris, 1924, 20. A. Waltz, "Comment fut cr~ele Musee d'Unterlinden," Bulletin de la Societe & Schongauer Colmar, Colmar, 1923-1933, 47-55. 2 For this von description see H. A. Schmid, Die Gemaldeund Zeichnungen MatthiasGriinewald,Strasbourg, 1911, II, 329. 3 I first outlined this approach in a paper given at the College Art Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco in 1972. 4 W K. Ziilch, Der historische Griinewald,Munich, 1938, 387. H. A. Schmid, Die Gemalde... . von MatthiasGriinewald,II, 89. s

Lamentation

The Closed Position

Saint Sebastian

Crucifixion

Saint Anthony

Lamentation

of (fromScheja,The 1 Diagram the threelevelsof the altarpiece New Isenheim 1969) Altarpiece, York,

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2 Grtinewald,Isenheim Altarpiece, closed state (photo: Giraudon)

3 Grtinewald, IsenheimAltarpiece,openedstate reconstructed (photo:Evola)

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(detail)(photo:Fellman) 4 Griinewald, Anthony of TemptationSaint

and 5 Griinewald, Anthony Paul(detail)(photo: Meeting Saints of Fellman)

graphicfabric of the work and forminga crucial aspect of the overallfunction. altarpiece's surrounding My approachhas been guidedby circumstances similar commissions, by information on the Antonite order, and by research into contemporary attitudes towardsillness and its treatment. In the first case, Roger van der Weyden's Last JudgmentAltarpiece at Beaune is important. There are extensive documents for this commission, its original context is clear, and the H6tel-Dieu at Beaune was also originally dedicated to Saint Anthony.6 Although we know little about the monasteryat Isenheim, there is a considerableamount of information on the mother house of the Antonites at St. Antoine de Viennois.7 And I have made use of two sources well known to historiansof the Antonite orderbut not usually tappedby art historians-statutes of reformof the orderdating to 1478, little more than a generation earlier than the IsenheimAltarpiece, and a history of the Antonites by Aymar Falco, written in 1534, less than a generation after the Isenheim commission.8 Finally, we must recall that, at this moment, the impulse to describe known diseases and their treatments was finding an outlet in printed books, and these and relatedstudies are accessibleto us. Three specific observations have been made about the Isenheim Altarpiece that link it to the hospital context. One involves the closed state (Fig. 2) with its wings representing Saints Sebastianand Anthony. These two saints also appearin grisaille on the outside of Roger's Beaune Altarpiece. Sebastian had long been associated with the repelling or wardingoff of disease, and since the foundingof the Antonite order, Anthony came to be identified with miraculouscure.9 Together they establish the themes of disease and healing as central to the meaning of the altarpiece. In the open state (Fig. 3), two details have been the focus of scrutiny. One is the haunting figurein the foregroundof the Temptation SaintAnthony (Fig. 4). His distended stomach, of inflamed boils, and withered arm all seem based on direct observation. So much so that the figure'swebbedfeet, which suggestthe fantastic, did not stop a lively written controversy at the turn of our century over what diseaseGriinewaldmeant to depict. Diagnoses formulated by several physicians, including Freud'steacher, the neurologist Charcot, ranged from leprosy to syphilis, indicating an impulse to precise

and 6 Grtinewald, Anthony Paul(detail)(photo: Meeting Saints of Fellman)

de et A. Leflaire, L'H6tel-Dieu Beaune leshospitalieres, 1959,16. Paris, et de de de hospitalier Saint-Antoine Viennois de 7 V. Advielle,Histoire l'ordre de et ses commanderies prieures,Paris-Aix, 1883. Abbe Dassy,L'Abbaye La Luc en Saint-Antoine Dauphin&, Grenoble,1844. L'Abbe Maillet-Guy, de en de CommanderieSaint-Antoine Vienne Dauphine, Vienne,1925. 8 Liber Archives Sacrae SanctiAntoniiVientiensis Reformacionis, Religionis de X.H.4. Grenoble, Departementales l'Isere, redated from1477to 1478in A. Mischlewski, Sectionsof these reforms, des "Die Auftrageber Isenheimer xix, 1975-76, Altar,"Cahiers alsaciens, in in translation H. Chaumartin, French 15-26, havebeenreprinted period et Le Maldesardents le feu Saint-Antoine, Paris,1946, 99ff. Abbe Dassy, L'Abbayede Saint-Antoine, 181ff. A. Falco, Antonianae Historiae Compendium, Lyon, 1534. A French 18th-centurytranslationof this can Municipalein Grenoble, manuscript be found in the Bibliothbque U. 4391. 9 C. D. Cuttler, of "TheTemptation St. Anthonyin Art,"Ph.D.diss.,New York 1952,13. University,
6

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middlestate, reconstruction Isenheim 7 Grtinewald, (photo:Evola) Altarpiece,

classification is morerevealing modern that of medicine than of the goalsof medical time.10 practice during Griinewald's On the othersideof the woodenshrine,in the foreground of the Meeting Saints and of Anthony Paul, plantsand herbs werenoted whose exactitudeof representation elicited also identification 5 and 6). Wolfgang and Lottlisa (Figs. Kiihn studiesthat identifythese plantsby Behlinghavepublished them to fifteenth-and sixteenth-century herbal comparing and handbooks that describe theirmedicinal functions.11 The middle of stageof the altarpiece, consisting a Madonna andChildand Incarnation has tabernacle, thusfarsuggested no associations the hospital to context(Fig. 7). Butgiventhe and healingsaintsin the closedstageand the diseased figure medicinal plantsin the openstage,we areled to a hypothesis that appears in whichseems only occasionally the literature, sometimes be takenforgranted,but for whichthereis no to

strict documentary basis:namely,that the IsenheimAltarat piece functionedin the healing program the monastery 12 to somecultural of hospital. It is helpful consider aspects the. timethat makesucha hypothesis plausible. medicalattitudesand treatments primarare Present-day of ily gearedtoward preservation life. Death is an eventual but remedies havebeenfoundand absolute, formanydiseases the directlinkbetween disease deathis oftenbroken. and This situationis in sharpcontrastto that of the earlysixteenth took on epidemic century,whendiseases quickly proportions; their etiologies were largely unknown, and illness was accompaniedby inevitable deteriorationalong with the imminentthreatof death. Hence the practiceof medicine then wasbasically defensive. instance,in his Feldbuch For der of Wundarzenai 1517, Hansvon Gersdorff prescribes waysof illnessrather thanrestoring health.13 His methods alleviating

10 See M. Charcot andP Richer,"Les dans Nouvelle J. Syphilitiques I'art," de et Iconographie la Salpatriere, 1888, 258-60. Idem,Les Difformes les I, malades dansl'art, Paris, 1889, 79ff. H. Meige, "LaLepredans l'Art," Nouvelle de 454-58. G. Thibierge, "Sur le x, Iconographiela Salpetriare, 1897, du de au Les pretendu lkpreux polyptique Griinewald museede Colmar," Annalesde dermatologie, 1920, 164-70. E. Wickersheimer, "Mathias Iv, et de de Griinewald le feu Saint-Antoine,"lerCongr8s l'Histoire l'Artde et au de Gurir, Anvers,1920, 3-11. H. Fleurent, L'Art la medicine musee 1928. Colmar, Colmar,

Isenheimer Altar als Darstellung mittelalter" W. KUhn,"Grilnewalds licherHeilkrauter," Annuaire la Societg de et de Historique Littiraire Colmar,

to II, 1951-52,20-27. According Kihn thereareabouttwentyidentifiable in plants.See also L. Behling,Die Pflanze dermittelalterlichen Tafelmalerei, Cologne,1967. 12 J. K. Huysmans's in earlyessayon the Isenheim Altarpiece Trois Primitifs, Paris, 1905, 36ff., directlyrelatessome of the imageryto the hospital context.Z0ilch, historische Der Griinewald, implies,in his discussion 214, of the TemptationSaint for of Anthony panel,thatit hadparticular meaning the in patients.The use of the altarpiece a healingprogram suggested is but neithersubstantiated examined E. Ruhmer's nor in in catalogue Griinewald, NewYork, 1958,119. 13 H. von Gersdorff, Feldbuch Wundarzenai, der 1517. Strasbourg,

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8 Woodcut fromBoethius, Consolatione De Philosophiae, Augsburg, 1537(photo:Evola)

9 Isenheim Monasterycomplex, plan. Colmar, Archives du H. Departementales Haut-Rhin, 10 1 b

includea gamutof soothingefforts,compresses, potions,and the like, and procedures eliminatingsymptoms, for ranging frombloodlettingto amputation.Accounts of miraculous cureandhortatory themesof revelation transcendence and are foundsideby side with evidenceof tangible medical skills.A a print illustrating Germanedition of Boethius illustrates these two healing methodsin one frame(Fig. 8). On the examines urinespecimen, a then asnowa right,the physician standard meansof diagnosis. the otherside of the rooma At 14 his over woman. healingsaintexercises powers the bedridden In the monasteryhospital, whose purposewas to provide shelter the poorandthe infirm, connecting for the church also introduced and towards relief. important prescriptions avenues A schematic viewof Isenheim the scale (Fig.9) reveals large andstrategic of placement the church,with its left navewall skirtingthe mainroad,which cuts throughthe townon its mountains west wayto the craggy Vosges immediately of the sucha bindingrelationship betweenthe monastery. Precisely and at monastery hospital the churchis formulated the outset of the founding of prescriptions Beaune's H6tel-Dieu,where NicolasRolinproclaimed, herewith "I foundandirrevocably for endow,in the city of Beaune,a hospital, poorsickpeople, with a chapelin the Lord's For honor."is5 both the patients and physicians such a hospitalthe structure each day in of wouldhavebeen provided the church,by the soundof the by churchbells and throughthe organized sequenceof prayers and devotion. The reformsof 1478 of the Antonite order advocate and as prayer entryinto the church a steadyroutine for the patients. "Mayeach patient be required every for canonicalhourto say twelveOur Fathers as manyAve and Marias,and in the churchif it is possible."'6The actual of before holyobjects a monastery the of is assembling patients called for in these reforms,demandingthat new patients be the for eventually led "before brothers the holy wine and before relicsasis the custom:"17 the Beaune the In documents Rolin calls for thirtybedsto be erectedin a hall continuous with the chapelso thatRoger derWeyden's van could triptych be viewed evenbythosetoo infirm approach altar.18At to the Isenheim altarpiece housedin the choirof the church the was (Fig. 10), but we shouldkeep in mind that the tremendous scaleof the altarpiece wouldhavemadeit visiblefrompoints

10 Isenheim du Monastery complex,ground plan. Lyon,Archives Rh6ne,49H699

14 One of the stipulations the reform of doctrineof 1478(Dassy, de L'Abbaye to Saint-Antoine, suggeststhe combinedcommitment the powerof 184) SaintAnthonyandto surgical intervention. even Perhaps SaintAnthony's is guidancein amputation procedures implied."Item:que les uns et les autresportent leursrobesou habits de manibre que la copurede leurs membres afin soit puisseapparaitre; quepar1 le peuple induit? plusgrande devotionet compassion rv&erence et enversSainct-Anthoyne." into '5Translations Englisharemine. A. Leflaire, de L'H6tel-Dieu Beaune, 16:"Jefonde et dote irrevocablement la ville de Beaune,un hopital dans avecune chapelle I'honneur Dieu." en de pourles pauvres malades, 16 Chaumartin, Maldesardents, Le 100."Q'ung chacunmalade tenude soit dire pourchaqueheurecanonique: sont douzePatern6tres autant et qui d'AveMaria: dansl'eglises'il est possible." et . le et ~7Ibid.,101.". .. Le lendemain malade . doit trerepequ conduit devantles fr&res le sainctvinageet devanles reliques, selon l'usage." pour 18 A. Leflaire, de L'H6tel-Dieu Beaune.,18.

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11 Griinewald, Temptation Anthony of Saint (detail) Giraudon) (photo:

outside the choir.19 Furthermore, patients were very the This is confirmed the reforms 1478that of speciallaymen. by their dutiesand rights.They probably enteredthe stipulate choir at certain times duringthe year. One such occasion a mighthavebeen when they took communion, requirement on six feastdaysoverthe yearaccording the reforms.20 to An examination the imagery the altarpiece of in further helpsus to understand asan activevehiclein the treatment disease it of andas an intensiveprimer the possiblegoalsof life under on the pressure death. of Pain is essentiallya private experiencethat isolates its victim from his surroundings.In the open stage of the IsenheimAltarpiece(Fig. 3), Grtinewald seemsto urgethe viewer'sconfrontation with this immediatereality, and he
19A. ChAtelet,"Uniteou diversit6du thame retabled'Issenheim?," du Cahiers the alsaciens,xIx, 1975-76, 61-68, emphasizes fact that in all Archives du surviving ground plans(Colmar, D6partementales Haut-Rhin, H 10 1 a,b,c; Lyon,Archivesdu Rhone, 49H699), the choir appears a as discretesection of the church.He suggeststhat althoughthe altarpiece couldhavebeen viewedthrough centralopeningleadingfromnaveto the fromthe choir.Butby choir,patientsmayhavebeen effectivelyexcluded the time the altarpiece commissioned separation was the betweenlaymen andfriars probably rigidthan Chateletsuggests. was less (See M. B. Hall, "The Ponte in Sta. MariaNovella:The Problem the Rood Screenin of and Journal theWarburg Courtauld Italy," of Institutes, 1974,157-73.) xxxvII, The existing groundplans of the Isenheimmonasteryshow a diagonal passageway leadinginto the southsideof the choirfrompointswithinthe monastery complex. 20 In discussing foodallotments, reforms the Antoniteorder the of specify oi "auxsix fetesannuelles, les malades la communiquent (regoivent sainte Eucharistie), un pot de bon vin pur et net" (Dassy, L'Abbayede Saint-Antoine, 188f.).

12 Griinewald, Madonna Child(detail)(photo:Fellman) and

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presentsa circumscribed possibilityfor its alleviation. It should of be noticed, for example, that the graphicrepresentation the diseased state in the form of a demon (Fig. 4) appearsalong the bottom frame, which would have been at the viewer's eye-level as he approached the altar (Fig. 11). Through this figure, the most human-looking of the demons, Griinewald mixed engagesthe viewer'ssense of identificationand provokes emotions of fear and pity.21 This monster is both gruesome and helpless. Like the Christ Child's posture in the second stage of the altarpiece (Fig. 12), his head falls back in need of support. In his face, deformityand pathos combine. Furthermore, on the cartello(Fig. 11) is the poignant plea, "Ubi eras ihesu boni, ubi eras? Quare non affuisti ut sanares vulnera mea?""Wherewereyou good Jesus,wherewereyou?Why were you not there to heal my wounds?"These words, evocative of Christ'swordsspoken to God the Fatherat the Crucifixion, are Anthony's own accordingto Athanasius.22But by placing the cartello at the lower right corner Grtinewald turns it into a compositional counterpart of the disease-demon at the left. Thus this figure becomes a visual embodiment of the verbal supplicationon the cartello. In general, a monastery hospital's main criterion for admission was need.23 Four hundred years later, one of the diagnosing physicians was probably aware of this situation when he referred to the disease-demon as a "synthese But pathologique."24 all the diagnosticspeculationwouldhave been helped by a look at the Antonites' own records. They reveal that the patients' symptomswere supposedto conform to a disease named after the monastery's patron-Saint Anthony's Fire. Aymar Falco, the official historian of the order, declaredthe primarygoal of the Antonite monasteryto be the care of those afflicted with this disease.25 The reforms of 1478 contained a diagnostic stipulation: "the next day they [the patients] must be led before the chapel of said hospital and they must be examined to find out if the disease is the infernal fire . . ."26 Only in 1597 was this disease discovered to be alimentary in origin and its cause isolated as ergot or poisoned rye.27 During Griinewald's time the cause was

unknown, but its treacherouseffects could not escape notice and its various symptoms elicited frequent depiction and description. Popularrepresentationsaround the time of the Isenheim Altarpiece often show its victims with a crutch under one arm and the other actually in flames (Fig. 13). Centuries earlier Sigebert de Gembloux reports on these victims: "The intestines eaten up by the force of Saint Anthony's Fire, with ravaged limbs, blackened like charcoal; either they died miserably,or they lived seeing their feet and hands develop gangreneand separatefromthe rest of the body; and they sufferedmuscularspasmsthat deformedthem.'"28 All the symptoms of Griinewald'sdemon have been variously associatedwith Saint Anthony's Fire and, given the professed goals of the monastery,we can assumethat the artistmeant to show him as suffering from this disease.29 Furthermore, Griinewaldbringsdeath and judgment into awarenessby way of vernacularreferenceswithin the graspof everyviewer. The Temptation SaintAnthonyis a subject of sufferingand of moral trial within a folk-narrative tradition. This entire panel's composition (Fig. 16) seems to derive from those conduct books for the dying Christian that appearedespecially after the middle of the fifteenth century, the Ars Moriendi (Fig. 14). There, the five temptations wrestle with the dying man in an attempt to break down his commitment to the teachings of the Church. Disease must have been experienced as a composite testing ground of true faith that would have required of these viewers a leap even greater than for the normal worshipper.Accordingly, what is to be dreadedis not the manifest disfigurement symptomatic of disease, as it appearsbefore us in the altarpiece, nor death itself, but the attendant possibilityof loss of faith implied by the inscription on the cartello. The sculpturedSaint Anthony, centered and enthroned, is like a high priest and judge (Fig. 3). One tradition characterizes Anthony as dispenserof judgment and emphasizeshis vengeful as well as his benevolent powers. More specifically, his capacity to heal alternates with his ability to punish through disease.30 This entire stage of the altar presentsa sort

21 J. K. Huysmans, Trois Primitifs, 36, already drew attention to the

apparently pitiable aspect of this demon. "Griinewald a-t-il voulu repr6senterdans ce qu'il a de plus abject le simulacre d'un demon? Je ne le avec soin le personnage, I'on s'apergoitqu'il est un pense pas. A consid&rer etre humain que se decompose et qui souffre." 22 C. Cuttler, "Some Griinewald Sources,"Art Quarterly,xix, 1956, 101ff., 115. 23 C. et Toilet, De l'assistance jusqu'auXIX sikcle, Paris, publique des hapitaux 1889, 45. A. Burckhardt, Geschichteder medizinischenFacultat zu Basel, 1460-1900, Basel, 1917,11, 16. Evidence for this can be found, for instance, in Nicolas Rolin's dedication of the H6tel-Dieu in which he says, "Jefonde de un h6pital pour les pauvresmalades ... " (A. Leflaire,L'H8tel-Dieu ?.. Beaune, 16). 24 H. de Fleurent, L'Artet la medicineau mus&e Colmar, 1928, 16. 25 Chaumartin, Le Mal des ardents,88. ". . . Toutes les personnes atteintes du Feu Sacre, de quelque contr~e du monde qu'elles viennent, elles y sont et reques si elles sont estropiees y sont nourries et sustentees avec grande charite toute leur vie." 26 Ibid., 101.". . . Le lendemain le malade doit tre admene & crotte dudit la hopital (chapelle souterraine), et visite pour savoir si la maladie est du mal infernal: et s'il en est ... " 27 H. de Brabant,Midecins, maladeset maladies la renaissance,Brussels, 1966, 89ff. Anon., From Ergot to "Ernutin": An Historical Sketch, London,

Wellcome Co., 1908, 11, 37ff. In 1597a tractwaspublished & Burroughs whichattributed causeof thisdisease the of the through University Marburg in in to spurred Thiswasconfirmed 1630bythe Ducde Sully's rye. physician which grows, France.Ergotis a formof the fungusClavicepsPurpurea, in especially rye, aftera dampseasonanda badharvest.
28 1. Gamblacensis Le Chaumartin, Maldesardents, Appendix Sigeberti 24; Chronica, 1098, "Annus pestilens, maxime in occidentali parte ubi consumente computrescentes, Lotharingiae; multi, sacroigni interiora aut exesismembris instar carbonum moriuntur, nigrescentibus, miserabiliter vitaereservantur, aut manibus pedibus et truncati,miserabiliori putrefactis multiveronervorum distortitormentantur." contractione This diseasewas knownvariouslyas Feud'Antoine, IgnisSacer, Ignis dividethe symptoms of medicalhistoriesgenerally Infernalis,Erysipelas; and Wellcome into forms ergotpoisoning gangrenous convulsive (Burroughs & Co., 41ff.).

29 In the reform doctrinesof 1478there is a section of regulations the for attireof these patients.One of the requiiements "uncapuchon is selon la whichmightexplainthe redhood draped coutumeanciennement gardee," aroundthe head and shouldersof this figure(Chaumartin,Le Mal des ardents, 99). 30 A. und in Martin,"DasAntoniusfeuer seine Behandlung derdeutschen Schweiz und in benachbarten Elsass," Schweizerischen medizinischen 1922, Wochenschrift, 106.

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13 Woodcut from Handbuch Gersdorff, derWundarzenai, 1517 Strasbourg, (photo:NewYork of Academy Medicine) 14 Master E.S.,Ars from Moriendi, facsimile Cust ed. (photo:Evola)

15 Grtinewald, Meeting Saints of and Anthony Paul (photo:Giraudon) 16 Griinewald, of TemptationSaint Anthony (photo: Giraudon)

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of earthly Last Judgment. Left of center is the gruesome Temptation Saint Anthony showing nightmarish monsters of attacking the saint. To the enthroned Anthony's right, the Meeting of Saints Anthony and Paul presents a wooded landscape in which the two elders calmly converse (Fig. 15). Against the underlying theme of death, these two saints representthe ideal goal of this life, a tranquiland holy old age. Griinewald also presents the limited means, according to contemporarypharmaceuticalprescription,known for worldly relief. The place of harmoniouscommunicationin the Meeting of SaintsAnthonyand Paul contains the plants and herbs that alleviated some of the effects of Saint Anthony's Fire (Figs. 5 and 6). For instance, the Antonite hospitals concocted two staples to soothe the burning sensations accompanying this disease, one of a kind of wine vinegar, the other a balsam.3' According to Kiihn and Behling, the herbs used for these still recipes can be identified in Grtinewald's life.32 Griinewald his facility for this kind of precise description in a exercised similar task in the panels for the Heller Altar, now in Karlsruhe, where he painted a variety of healing plants in delicate grisaille. In the Isenheim Altarpiece they are compositional counterparts of the diseased figure in the Temptation panel at the right. Several grow in the vicinity of the small plaque bearing Guido Guersi'scoat-of-arms, below the seated Anthony (Fig. 6). Guersi, who as preceptorof the monastery at Isenheim commissioned this work, identifies himself with Anthony, patron and healer. Beyond the use of salves and potions, there is ample documentation for one more active form of medical intervender includes tion. Hans von Gersdorff'sFeldbuch Wundarzenai in the section on Saint Anthony's Fire a long description of amputationprocedures."3 A letter of 1451froma magistratein Colmar requeststhat the Isenheim monasterysend its resident surgeon to perform an amputation at the Colmar hospital.34 Upon visiting the mother cloister in 1502, Pico della Mirandola's nephew reported that one was constantly reminded of this surgical procedurethrough the monastery's custom of preservingand exhibiting amputatedlimbs.35Kurt Bauch has suggested that the two halves of the Isenheim Lamentation predella (Fig. 17) were meant to slide apart on a tracking mechanism, as in the predella of the nearly contemporary Blaubeuren Altarpiece.36 This plausible suggestion becomes more compelling in the light of Gian Francesco Pico's account. If the predella is opened according to Bauch's reconstruction, the Lamentation, split in two, would remainvisible. Since the split occursjust below Christ's knees, the left half would present the kind of sacredremnant

that Gian Francesco Pico describes and the right section would show Christ himself as a model amputee.37 In the open stage of the altarpiece, a realm defined by the limits of historical time (Fig. 3), confrontation and awareness are the states requiredof the individual viewer. Only then would he be preparedto graspthe meaning of his condition, only then could he begin to fathom the significanceof death. The central Anthony, as institutional leader, calmly oversees this domain of worldly threats and practical solutions. Contemporaryillustrationsof Anthony as physician generally show him as he appearshere, enthroned or standing. In the closed state of the altarpiece (Fig. 2), Grtinewaldfollows the standing format and places Anthony in the right wing as a kind of guardianfigurefor the central image of the suffering Christ. Moreover,here, by definition, sufferingand death are intertwined. We are faced with the two sides of death. The Crucifixion shows the presents death in its imminence, the Lamentation state of death. Silhouetted againstthe night sky, these figures appearlargeas life. In contrast to the painted representations in the open state, they are like expressive participants in a real-life dramathat is meant as an organizingfocus for a large assembly of viewers. In a broadersense, too, the viability of the Crucifixion as image and symbol lies in permitting vast numbersof people to find community in pain and suffering.In the hospital, the identification with the images of the closed state of the altarpiece would have been all the more intense. The patients at Isenheim certainly sharedthe idea of man as sinner since disease was often considered a manifestation or punishment of sin. But through Christ'ssacrificeon the Cross man was redeemed. These worshippers must have approached the closed altarpiece with special gratitude, for it dramatizes this supremely magnanimous act. In other respects too the Crucifixion stage is positive in its approach. The Crux Taumata, the Tau-shaped cross topping a long staff, is Anthony's principal attribute. When he became patron of this complex of monasteriesit was made the monks' official insignia as well. Healing virtues werealreadyassociated with the Tau in biblical times. This tradition recurs in the circumstancesof the founding of the Order, when Anthony instructs Gaston to plant a Tau and it quickly bearsfruit and develops curing powers.38An image of the Crucified Christ inscribed within the Tau-shaped cross occurs especially in several late fifteenth-century prints, and this coexistence of motifs is importantfor our furtherunderstandingof the effect of the central Crucifixionin the Isenheim Altarpiece. One example depicts such a combination, and is also accompanied

L. Behling, Die Pflanzein der mittelalterlichen 145. Tafelmalerei, W. Ktihn, Annuaire de la Societe Historique et Litteraire de Colmar, 1951-52, 20-27. According to Kiihn there are about twenty identifiable plants of which fourteen were frequentlyrecommended for the treatment of Saint Anthony's Fire. Although this looks like a naturalistic still life, the plants have been brought together because of their connection with the disease. section xx. 33 H. von Gersdorff, Wundarzenai, 34 H. Fleurent, "L'Art et la medicine i Colmar," Revue d'Alsace, LXXV, 1928, 7.
3'
32

H. Brabant, Medecins,maladeset maladies,94. K. Bauch, "Aus Grtinewalds Friihzeit," Pantheon, xxvII, 1969, 93. The predella was in fact described as a two-part panel in the 18th century when the altarpiece was still in situ: H. A. Schmid, Die Gemdlde ... von Matthias Griinewald,II, 350. 37 Accordingly, one is led to relate the shape, placement, and function of John the Evangelist's cloth-covered left hand, in the predella, to the crosspiece of a crutch. 38 E. Wickersheimer, "Le Signe Tau, faits et hypotheses," Strasbourg m'dical, LXXXVIII, 1928, 341-48. 22,
35 36

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17 Griinewald, Lamentation, Giraudon) predella (photo: and contemplationof this by a text that prescribes prayer in exchangefor protection fromthe onslaught the of image Thus the viewersat Isenheim,through plague (Fig. 18).39 theircommon of could experience localtextsandillustrations, attachthis reassuring level of meaningto the Crucifixion on the altarpiece. In the closedviewof the altarpiece on (Fig. 2), variations the color red stand out against the dark background.In conjunctionwith the subjectsof the Crucifixionand the the Lamentation, useof redis an obvious of conjuring way up the blood of Christ for the celebrationof the Eucharist. livid flesh, covered Christ's with soresin the Crucifixion and can be seen as a particularlypoignant and Lamentation, personalresolutionof the long-standing theologicaldebate overwhetherthe substance the Eucharist connectedto of is the spiritual or to the earthly,suffering body bodyof Christ. The patientscould identifywith the latter,and this choice alsoprovided them with a strikingly relevantphysicalimage whichto perceive process transubstantiation. the of through In a hospitalthis sacrament takeson specialized significance. Christ's eternallife, expressed in historically the Resurrection and liturgically the Eucharist, in thesepatientswith provided a modeldestinyfortheirownmutilated beings. The expressively isolatedfigure Johnthe Baptist,to the of has beennoticedbyscholars rightof the Crucifix, always (Fig. to and 19). They have attempted locate both literary visual sources explain chronologically to his unwarranted presence.40 Butit is usually overlooked Johnstandsin frontof a body that of waterin the background a of landscape, clearindication the localeof the Baptism.41The importance this sacrament of for the meaning and function of this altarpiece cannot be For its in overemphasized. now,let usconsider precise meaning the hospitalcontext. Not only the common,cross-cultural notionof wateras a purifying rejuvenating and agent,butalso the healingnatureof the watersis doubtless implied.In the
39 H. L. Schreiber, Handbuchder Holz und Metallschnittedes XV fromAlsace, Jahrhunderts,Leipzig,1926-1930,73-74, No. 931;possibly II, in ca. 1500. This print is discussedand reproduced E. Wickersheimer, medical, 1928,343, fig. 6. Strasbourg 40 See, for instance,H. Feurstein, Matthias Griinewald, Bonn, 1930,87, in connection with SaintBridget's Sermo angelico. 41 S. Kayser,in a little-known but important article, "Griinewald's Review Religion, 1, 1940,3-35, alsorecognizes riverin a Christianity," of v, the background brings the themeof the Baptism; Rugamer, and "Der W. up IsenheimerAltar MatthiasGrtinewalds Lichte der Liturgieund der im

18 Woodcut, Berlin-Dahlem, Kupferstichkabinett Anders) (photo: Old Testament Kings5), Naamanthe Syrianis curedof (2 leprosyby dippingseven times in the RiverJordan.And althougha distinction is often madebetweenthe earthly,
kirchlichenReformbewegung," cxx, 1939, Theologische Quartalschrift, as of 371-82, pointsto the riverin the background a reminder the Jordan. It shouldbe mentioned that in the left wingof Rogervan derWeyden's a of Braque Triptych half-lengthfigure Johnthe Baptistis set againstthe distantbackground once againin a depictionof a river,where Johnappears minuscule of van New Baptism Christ(M. Davies,Rogier derWeyden, York, even that 1972,fig.52). Thus,Roger articulates moreprecisely the riveris a of attribute Johnthe Bapist that it refers the larger and to personal themeof the sacrament Baptism. of

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19 Griinewald, Crucifixion (photo: Giraudon) healing action of Old Testament waters, and the spiritual salvation with remissionof sins achievedby Baptism,the idea of a healing aspect to the watersof Baptismalwaysremained. Augustine testifies to miraculouscures during Baptism,42and some missals contain a special Ordo for baptizing the afflicted.43 Many handbooks describing and advertisinglocal mineral baths were published at the turn of the sixteenth century. Moreover, hydrotherapyand the analysis of mineral waters preoccupiedAlsatian physiciansjust at this time.44 A region of the Vosges mountains less than five kilometers from the Isenheim monastery was rich with thermal springs, and monasteries were often guardiansof mineral baths.45s do We not know directly that baths were recommended in the treatment of Saint Anthony's Fire, but their use in diseases like epilepsyand leprosyprovidessuggestiveevidence.46If this hypothesis has any validity, and given the paucity of documentation about Griinewald, the fact that he is men42Selected Easter Sermons St. Augustine, P.T. Weller, Louis,1959, ed. St. of 45. 43TheMissal Robert of (ed. ofJumiages H. A. Wilson,London,1896,100ff.) containsan Ordo Baptisandum ad of Infirmum 1008-1025. 44 S. Mayer, Paracelsus dieBalneologie Zeit,BadKissingen, und seiner 1931,6. 45 J.F Heyfelder, Heilquellen Grossherzogthums Die des des und Baden, Elsass, dasWasgau, "Culte eauxet sources des 1841.L. Pfleger, sacrees en Stuttgart, out Alsace,"Revue d'Alsace, 1958,57-78. Pfleger brings the fact that XCII, certainnatural sources waterwereconsidered of holy andthat manywere consecrated SaintJohnthe Baptist. to actually 46 M. et des J. L. Beitz, Description historique, chymique medicinale eaux de en mine'rales Sultzbach Haute Alsace,Colmar,1789,32.

20 Griinewald, Resurrection (photo:Fellman)

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tioned both beforeand afterthe executionof the Isenheim link as becomesa tantalizing engineer Altarpiece a hydraulic in the possible chain of events leading to the Isenheim commission.47 Christ's divinity having been first revealedwhen John him, the closedstageof the altarpiece baptized encapsulates both his divine characterand his most humanaspect, the on dual is as suffering the Cross,andChrist's nature presented an exemplar the patients Isenheim. for at Centralto baptismal doctrineis the couplingof the wood of the Crosswith the watersof life, the dualismof death and transcendence, the of life throughdeath.48 Saint Paul elaborates expansion on fromearthto heaven: eloquently this promised journey Do younot knowthat all of us whohavebeenbaptized into into his death?We wereburied ChristJesus werebaptized with him by baptism death,so that as Christ into therefore fromthe deadby the gloryof the Father, too wasraised we of mightwalkin the newness life. Forif wehavebeenunitedwithhim in a deathlikehis we shall certainlybe united with him in a resurrection like his. . .. 49 formaland iconographic Furthermore, Griinewald's handling of othersectionsof the altarpiece mediate between loftier, this doctrinallevel of communication one that relatesmore and of and to the immediate directly perceptions experiences the Forinstance,the Temptation SaintAnthony patients. of (Fig. 16)foldsoverthe ResurrectionChrist of (Fig.20). The contrast between the two bodily states is made explicit visually, the in of through quotation posesoccurring the supineSaint and the sleepingsoldierin the foreground the of Anthony the Resurrection, one bearingwitnessto bodily torture,the on The other attendant bodilytranscendence. patientswho viewedthis altarpiecemusthave been urgedto experience their own sufferingas the necessarystep towardspiritual ascendance. In the closed view of the altarpiece,then, the related themesof death and illnessarecentraland inescapable, but couldalsofindevidence comfort hope (Fig. for and the viewer of but deaththereexiststhe 2). In thisrealm certain sacrificial in of divineintervention the healingprocess of and possibility
personal transcendenceand afterlife. The Crucifix, the saints in the wings, and John the Baptist all communicated the possibility of prevention and healing.so Griinewald, by

enlarging the standing Anthony compared to Sebastian, his structuralcounterpartin the altarpiece, appearsto give shape to the notion that the powerto heal was itself a miraculousor divinely inspiredgift.51 Aymar Falco recordsthat in practice "in the year 1530, we witnessed that many who sufferedfrom this terrible illness were completely cured through imploring the patronsaint and throughthe holy wine in which the relics of the saint's body had been immersed, and which was then applied locally to the diseased parts of the body."52 The images of the altarpiecealso generated the hope for remission and redemption. Through references to the blood and the water, the association with the church ceremonial-to the Eucharistand the Baptism-meant that the entire closed stage urged active participation in the body of Christ and an imaginative re-creation of life. Indeed, the altarpiece's fundamental message is one of promise-the promise, not alone of good health, for which we might settle gladly,but also of a place beyond the confines of this world. The middle stage especially, which shows a differentapproachto the condition of disease, is a revelationof this futurestate. In the open stage of the altarpiece Griinewald depicts objects pertinent to illness and healing as realistic details in the narrativescenes of the life of Saint Anthony (Fig. 3). The closed stage (Fig. 2) confronts us with the manifest theme of death, and single motifs and characters have a resonating meaning that embraces the suggestion of sustained life. This dramatic and symbolic region of Griinewald's Crucifixion addressesthe sharedknowledge of the congregationand their capacity to perceive these images as replete with associations relevant to the hospital context. The middle stage presentsa number of details that help us to locate yet another level of assistanceto the patient (Figs. 7 and 21). Some of the furnishingsin the middle stage of the altarpiece seem to derive from Oriental sources. Forexample, the clear glass vessel on the tabernacle step (Fig. 22), with its angled handle for supportof the thumb, is a shape traceablethrough Venice to Persia.53The small earthenwarepot in the center foregroundand the tub and musical instruments (Fig. 21) are to be seen in allegoricalillustrationscelebratingthe domain of alchemy, that occult branch of science dealing in material transformations (Figs. 23 and 24). Oriental magic had seeped into the West all through the Middle Ages and the notion of the occult was often automatically linked to the East. Accordingly, it is rarelynoticed that a script meant to look

47 A. Kehl, Griinewald 1964, 11, 35f.; Doc. Aschaffenburg, Forschungen, Nos. 2, 10, 17,18. 48 J. The and NotreDame,Indiana,1956,78ff. Danielou, Bible theLiturgy, 49Romans 6:3. 50 A woodcutfrom southern Germany, in reproduced Griinewald-Der Isenheimer Altar,Stuttgart, 1973,221, depictsthe samefoursaintsas in the Holzschnitte Crucifixion of the Isenheim stage Altarpiece.W. L. Schreiber, S in desfiinfzehnten . . zu Jahrhunderts die k6nigliche graphische Sammlung the 1912,22, No. 5. The catalogue entrydiscusses Miinchen, Strasbourg, I, to foursaintsin relation disease healing,associating twoJohns and the with epilepsy and Anthony and Sebastian with the plague. Thus, in the IsenheimAltarpiece,not only Sebastianand Anthony but also the two in Johnscouldpartake this overall meaning. 51 H. Blum, les "Griinewald, deux volets fixesdu Retabled'Issenheim," d'histoire l'art, de Nov.-Dec. 1972,199-207,putsforth L'Information in scale between the two forxvlI,5, the an

interesting explanation

discrepancy

saints.He saysthat if Anthonyis the physician, Sebastian couldrepresent the archetypalpatient and that in medievalmanuscripts doctor is the sometimes shownin larger scalethan the patient. a panelof Saint Cyriac,nowin Karlsruhe, presents healer Grtinewald's an and his patient within one space. Cyriacperforms exorcismon the of Artemia,daughter Diocletian.In thispanelis a femalepatient, possessed muchyounger thanCyriac,andin a kneelingposture. beyond But certainly all thesereasons representing in smaller for her or scale,sheseemsshrunken contracted in a manner that one might comparewith the structural saints. of discrepancy the two Isenheim 52 nous Le Chaumartin, Maldes ardents,138. "Encette memeannie oui ecrivonset qui est l'andu Seigneur1530, nousapportons que temoignage souffrant cette terriblemaladieguerirent de completement beaucoup par du de [Antoine]et parles merites saintvinage I'imploration ce saintpatron A saintqu'onappliquait localement du ou l'onavaittremp6 reliques corps les l'endroit la maladie." de des Die Glaser Mittelalters, Berlin,1963, 73-74. s3 F Rademacher, deutschen

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and Madonna Child(photo:Fellman) 21 Griinewald,

22 Detailof Fig.21

eines 23 Enstehung Homunculus, etching.Basel, Schweizerisches Pharmazie-Historisches Museum (photo:Heman)

24 Trismosin, Solis. Splendor Museum British London,

25 Detailof Fig.21

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like Hebrew encircles the small pot in the foreground(Fig. 25). Frequently, in folk or mystical traditions, protective powers were attributed to words or letters, and Hebrew especially seemed naturallyendowedwith such meaning.54In fact, only the first and last letters-reading from right to

left-of the scriptarerecognizable Hebrew Shin characters,

and Ayin, a choice that may not be accidental. The Shin, perhaps the most elaborate and typical Hebrew letter, often markedJewish residences and it is the exposed letter on the

traditional mezuzah.55 tiny casefora tightlyrolledscroll This

was affixed to the doorpost of Jewish homes, where it functioned essentially as a good-luck or protective charm.56

alignmentof the Shin with the cradleand the Grtinewald's

doorwayof the garden wall thereforemay be important. The use of this letter is all the more pointed in conjunction with

the Ayin,because letterandthe first word Ayinis boththe first in Hebrew the evil eye, AyinHora.57 for
The infant Christ plays with a rosaryand fingerstwo of the

five goldenbead dividers(Fig. 12). The rosary become had

popularin the late fifteenth century as a device aroundwhich

to organize prayer, but only during the Papacy of Leo X-contemporary with the Isenheim Altarpiece-was it officially sanctioned by the Church.58Doubts about its
effectivenesswereassociatedwith its propensityto servea kind of magical function.59 In the first place, the rosary was

generally employedin prayersfor direct and immediate

assistance and intervention. Also, a defining characteristicof the linguistic structureof these prayersis reiteration, or the amassingof a series of wordsby repetition, a systemfrequently used to induce a meditative state. Finally, the rosary's physicalrealityas jewelryassociatedit with common necklaces

or bracelets, or charms amulets-especially when, good-luck

as in Griinewald's example, there was a pendant or charm

to attached it.60 Here,a largegoldmedallion behindthe falls

bodyof Christand a bifurcated piece of coralpoints to the infant's chest. Amulets in generaland coral in particular wereused in off evil spiritsand protecting the evil eye.61 fending against The common beliefin suchanunseenforceorspell,capable of harm to the point of death, must have seemed causing especiallypertinentto the case of disease.In turn, various and kinds of amuletsand semi-precious preciousstones of withthe power ward to different colorscameto be credited off or heal diseases.62 musicalangelsweara variety Grtinewald's of gold rings, some mountedwith red stones, on different the of fingers both hands,whichtheydisplay through bowing and fingering their instruments of 26 and 27). One of (Figs. the headings Agrippa Nettesheim's in von nearlycontemporary book on magic reads "Of Magical Rings and Their In "inasmuch as rings Compositions." this sectionhe describes do fortifyus againstsickness, poisons, enemies, evil they spirits, and all mannerof hurtfulthings ... ."63 Furtherthe and more,redstones,suchas rubies garnets, suggesting by andto to colorof blood,wererecommended arrest hemorrhage nullifythe effectof wounds.64 in Several otherelements this stageof the altarpiece support and viewof its purpose a magical for as my catalyst protection Most are transformation.65 important the threemusic-making angelsat the left sideof the centralsection(Fig.21). They,of a course,traditionally populate celestialrealm.Butthereis an of andage-oldtradition musicas a curative equally applicable Saulby means. In 1 Samuel16, Davidcalmsthe tormented for him on the lyre.The ancientsattributed healing playing powersto the soundof variousinstruments. Theophrastus and AulusGelliusthoughtthat the flutewouldcuresciatica and Democrates thoughtthe soundof the flutewouldhelp a victim of the plague.66 This kind of speculationexists all throughhistory. Todaythere are many journalson music

54 H. C. Agrippa von Nettesheim, The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chicago, 1913, 219, 221. (This volume, written by 1510, was published as in part of the three-volumeOccult Philosophy 1533.) ". . . The writing of the Hebrewsis, of all, the most sacred in the figuresof the characters, points of vowels, and tops of accents; or consisting in matter, form, and spirit . ... If there is any language whose wordshave a natural signification, it is manifest that this is the Hebrew." See also S. Seligmann, Der base Blick und ii, Verwandtes, Berlin, 1910, 338.

55 The mezuzahcontains a tightly rolled scroll with the first two paragraphs of that monotheistic proclamation central to Judaism, the Shma Yisroel. Shin is the first letter of Shma as well as of Schaddai, the Hebrew word meaning Almighty, also at times abbreviated on the mezuzah. See L. B. Philip, The Ghent Altarpieceand the Art of Jan van Eyck, Princeton, 1971, 149, figs. 161-63. 56 Ibid., S. Seligmann, Der bbseBlick, 11, 338.

Ibid., I, 57. Aside from the scholarly and theological commitment to Hebrewthat kept it alive in the monastic context, fascination for the occult in the first quarterof the 16th century provokedits renewed study. In 1510, for instance, the entire parliament of D1le--not far from Isenheim-came to hear H. C. Agrippa von Nettesheim's commentary on the Kabbalistic occulte, Paris, 1900, 30). writings of Reuchlin (L. Durey,La Me'decine 58s G. Ritz, Der Rosenkranz, Munich, 1963, 5.
57

59 Ibid., 6.
60 61 62

Ibid.,65ff.
E.A.W. Budge, Amuletsand Talismans,New Hyde Park, 1961, xiv. G.E Kunz, The CuriousLoreof Precious Stones, Philadelphia, 1913, 33. A.

Pazzini, Le pietre preziosenella storia della medicinae nella legenda, Rome, 1939, 49ff. It was standardto credit different stones or gems with magical functions. The cataloguing of stones in the typical Hortus Sanitatis (ed. Strasbourg, 1497 and 1517 under De Lapidibus), routinely includes this characteristic. 63 H. C. Agrippa von Nettesheim, The Philosophyof Natural Magic, 146. 64 Griinewald's painting of Saints Erasmus and Maurice (Munich, Alte Pinakothek), demonstrates the greatest expertise in the description of gems. An interpretation of this panel might well take into account the myriadjewels represented. 65 The brooches at the angels' necks are also suggestive;the best preserved and most elaborate of them is worn by the Angel Annunciate. Like an upside-downpineapple with foliage at the top, the brooch holds what seems to be a dark, faceted stone within its polygonal rim. This brooch is identical with one of the two brooches worn by the grisaille Saint Cyriac, who is engaged in an exorcism (see note 51 above), as was also observed by H. Gasser (Das Gewand in der Formensprache Griinewalds, Bern, 1962, 77), although she did not explore the implications of this association for the Isenheim Altarpiece. In discussing Saint Cyriac'sbrooch, Gasser mentions that such objects would be filled with aromatic herbs that were meant to dispel the offensive odors of Satan and that any interpretation of its meaning must take into account the event of exorcism. The pine cone or pineapple is also an attribute of the ancient physician Aesculapius and it was used by both the Babyloniansand the Assyrians to restorehealth and to combat witchcraft (T.S. Sozunskey,MedicalSymbolism,Philadelphia, 1891, 111, 116). 66 A. Underwood, "Apollo and Terpsichore:Music and the Healing Art," Bulletinof the Historyof Medicine,v, Sept.-Oct. 1947, 639-73.

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26 Detailof Fig.21

of 27 Detail Fig.21 therapy;aroundthe time of the IsenheimAltarpiecesuch discussion took place in both musicaland medicalstudies. a Paracelsus, trainedphysician,practicedwhat he himself calledmusical In medicine.67 a treatise the effectsof music on Tinctoris(ca. 1490), we learn that musiclifts by Johannes chasesawaydemonicforces,causesecstasy,helpsin sadness, the contemplation the supernatural, curesthe sick.68 of and
67C.D. Heline, Healing Regeneration and Music,Santa Barbara, through 1943,18. 68 R. Die der Hammerstein, Musik Engel,Munich,1962, 138ff. 69A. Carapetyan, "Musicand Medicinein the Renaissance," Musicand ed. and Medicine, Schullian Schoen,NewYork, 1948,121f. 70 J.Schumacher, "Musik Heilfaktor den Pythagoreen Lichtihrer als bei im in Musik derMedicine, Teirich, ed. naturphilosophischen Anschauungen," 1958,1-16. Stuttgart,

Such attitudesdependon two relatedinsights.One is a of effectsof music;the otheris the recognition the cathartic connectionbetweenmindand bodyin any illness perceived that would admitof sucha psychotherapeutic to healing. road had a basisfor this notion. Pythagoras established theoretical In hissystem, music became estheticmodelforbothcosmic an and humannature.69 The humanbodywascompared an to instrument with the soul as its music. Forthe Pythagorean attunement bodyandsouland of doctor,healthwasthe proper harmonybecamethe conceptualfigurefor good health.70 Theoreticaland technical handbookson musicduringthe Renaissance connect differentclassesof instruments the to essential of drums wererelated rhythm, to components music; viols to harmony.71In depicting three levels of violsembodiesthis bowable,stringedinstruments-Griinewald estheticequivalent health. Furthermore, restricting for in his instrumentsto three, he displaysthe basis of a tripartite that around 1500as the canonical harmony hadjustemerged revision Pythagoras's of fourfold ideal.72 of extraordinary manipulation light in this Griinewald's stage of the altarpiececan be discussedwith respectto its consistent meaningful and of exposition the theme(Fig.7). In my view there are four impliedzones in the panels which accountforthe earthlyandspiritual statesof Christ's bodyin fromleftto right,wesee:(1) the alternating sequence. Moving Annunciation-the spirit housed; (2) the Madonna in Glory-embodying her destiny as a sacredshrine; (3) the Madonnaand Child in a landscape-symbolizingearthly entrance;and (4) the Resurrection-the spirit liberated. underscores these divisions throughhis use of Grtinewald to light. The two zonesreferring the body's earthlyexistence aredefined areasilluminated froman outsidesource.The by twospiritual zonesaredark containobjects emittheir and that ownlight. But it is also importantto stressthat in this partof the altarpiece there is an immediate and overall impact of in radiance,of visualvibration,as seen especially visionary the areaof the angels'draperies the aureoles and around the and Christ(Figs.20 and 21). tiny Madonna the resurrected Therearealsopassages seemingly of incandescent light-as at the top, where God the Fatherappears,and throughthe of In literature application goldon the tabernacle. astrological of the time a firmtraditioncharacterizes glowinglight, the color of the sun, and gold itself as powerful agents to be invoked the morbid influences disease.73 of against And, aside
fromthe traditionalreligioussymbolismof the aureole,there is serious discussion in occult medicine of the human aura, which, allegedly visible, reflectsone's state of health and has the capacityfor transferenceand healing.74 the and Furthermore, appliedgold, the couleurs changeantes, the colors highlighted in white are more than literally
M. Agricola, Musica Instrumentalis 1528. Deudsch, 72 L. Spitzer,Classical Christian and Ideasof World Baltimore, Harmony, 1963,37. Medical 156; H.C. Bolton, The Follies 73 T.S. Sozunskey, Symbolism, of at Science theCourt Rudolph Milwaukee, II, 1904,117. of 74 E Birren, TheStory Color,Westport, Conn., 1941,184f.G.S. White, of TheStory theHuman Aura,LosAngeles,1928. of
71

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descriptive. If the open stage of the altarpiece needed to be "read"or deciphered, and the closed stage contemplated, this middle stage, throughthe light and color, provokesthe kind of visual fixation precedent to a trancelike state. This effect is a perceptualequivalent to the content, where occult beliefs and magical means are marshalled to combat the evil spirits associated with disease.75To go one step further, the fixated gaze, when confronting gems or crystal, could also modulate into the act of foreseeing.76We witness the transmutationof Christ's body, coveredwith sores, in the predellabelow, into scene the alabasterpurity of its appearancein the Resurrection And Griinewaldcelebratesesthetically the revelation (Fig. 7). of what lies beyond this life. Between the wings of the Annunciation Resurrection a and is central section representingtwo aspects of the Madonna (Fig. 21). To our left, her tiny, crowned image appears in the doorway of an elaborate gilt tabernacle, an indication of the celestial realm.To our right, she sits in a landscapeholding the Christ Child, connoting her earthly existence. But since Griinewalddepicts this earthly Madonna in tremendousscale, populatesthe landscapewith Mariansymbols, and showsGod the Father in Heaven as an embodiment of light, he suggests that this is an ideal landscaperatherthan a place on earth. Its groundline continuous with that of the tabernacle, these two units surelyrepresentthe New Heaven and the New Earth, the two parts of the Heavenly Jerusalemdescribed in Revelation 21:1:"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away . . . and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourningnor crying, nor pain any more ... .."77 By now it seems clear that the commissionersat Isenheim, its resident physicians, the patients, and Grtinewaldhimself, had a thoroughgoing commitment to the importance of the altarpiece for the hospital complex. Each stage of the itself to the problemof diseaseand healing altarpieceaddresses in a special manner. The open stage of the altarpiece(Fig. 3), with the narrative scenes of Saint Anthony, presents the condition of disease along with the medical techniques for its alleviation. The closed, Crucifixion stage (Fig. 2), outlining a of death, allows for the possibility of divine phenomenology intervention and of identificationwith the divine. The middle stage (Fig. 7) arms us against the mysterious forces of infection, offers the alternative route of psychophysical treatment, and shows us a gloriously imagined estate of the future. These approaches,which we might view as contradictory, reinforceand offset each other in dynamic equilibrium: from the prescriptions practicalor organicpharmaceutics of to
7s Although Griinewald remains a mysterious personality, references to the

the surgical procedures of contemporary medicine, from popular beliefs and intellectual speculation into magical repellents and cathartic devices to the establishedvocabulary of symbols for protection and transcendence articulated by Catholic doctrine. Whereas at this moment, academic medicine was taking root in the vicinity of Isenheim, the path of disease was still mysterious enough and its manifestations devastating enough for all these methods to be held in comprehensiveawarenessand trust. Earlyaccounts of Saint Anthony's Fire concentrated on its physical symptoms. But John Fuller'snovelistic documentary on the modern outbreakof this disease in Pont-St.-Esprit in France during 1951 describes visions, hallucinations, and delusions experiencedby the victims.78 Those reactionsbear a striking affinity to the contrastingworldsGriinewaldconjures up, where we are taken from spiky forms and nightmarish territories to glowing colors and radiant visions. Recent analysishas revealedthat the component of the funguscausing Saint Anthony's Fire is close to lysergicacid diethylamide or LSD.79 This, in turn, gives us some insight into the psychoneural effects of the disease on the Pont-St.-Esprit victims and it suggests that Griinewald'sportrayalcould also reflect something of the actual experiences of the Isenheim patients. That Griinewald chose to transcribe a presumably predeterminedprograminto visual language that touches the experiencesof these patients only bringsout moredramatically what has been implied thus far, namely, his extraordinary capacity to be affectedby this context and his evident need to communicate with this special groupof viewers. If one of our aims is to understand this artist better, we are left with the question of why he was thus affected. There is no ready answer. In the absence of further documents I would nevertheless like to make a general suggestion. The altarpieceexpressesa community with ideas informing the contemporaryreformation Christianthought. We see in of the work, firstof all, the effort to wrestessential meaning from the model of the Gospels and the concomitant formulationof a languagethat is directlyexpressive.Secondly, the altarpiece attempts to dramatizethe phenomenon of mystic revelation. caused Through the physiological and psychologicalpressures their illness, the patients at Isenheim undoubtedlycrossed by certain thresholds of perception to arrive at alterd states of awareness. Indeed, there is eloquent testimony for this possibility in a nearly contemporary treatise written outside the purviewof academic medicine, Agrippavon Nettesheim's the Toward end of this massivevolume there OccultPhilosophy. is a section, "Concerning Rapture, Ecstasy, and Prophetic
collection in 1598, was himself immersedin every aspect of the occult (H.C. II, Bolton, The Folliesof Scienceat the Court of Rudolph passim).
76 G.E Kunz, The CuriousLoreof PreciousStones, 7, 11, 214.

occult sciences do appear in his other works. Drawings of a kneeling king with angels and of a Saint Dorothy in the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett contain representationsof astrolabes, that basic instrument of astrological studies (see L. Behling, MatthiasGriinewald,Kdnigstein im Taunus, 1969, figs. 85 and 86). In the Stuppach Madonna, the Christ Child'sbracelet, the rosaryin a bowl, and the strange lighting effects along with the appearance of an actual rainbow, combine to suggest a magical interpretation for this picture. BernardSaran (MatthiasGriinewald,Menschund Weltbild,Munich, life 1972) has emphasizedthis aspect of Griinewald's and art, using evidence fromdocuments, such as the contents of the artist'sinventory, to underscore his points. But he does not focus on the Isenheim Altarpiece. It is perhaps telling that Rudolph II, who tried to purchase the altarpiece for his

7 This has been suggested by L.B. Philip, The Ghent Altarpiece, 219. See also her discussion of this general theme.
78 J.G. Fuller, The Day of St. Anthony'sFire, New York, 1968, 96. It would seem that 16th-century conventions for symptomological recording were restricted to what could actually be observed by the physician. Visions and hallucinations were of course characterizedin the religiouscontext of saints' writings. Fire, 276. 79 J.G. Fuller, The Day of St. Anthony's

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PowersWhich Happen to Epileptics, to Personsin a Swooning State, and to the Dying": force in our souls which is There is, in effect, a transparent capable of total understandingbut usually it is shroudedby the body's darkness and held back by the burdens of mortality. But sometimes those who are near death and weakenedby age will experience extraordinary of light, rays because the soul is then less burdened by the senses and comprehendswith greatersubtlety . . and perceives with ease those revelationspresentedhim in his agony.s80 If a primarygoal of reformationalthought was to reestablish the direct link between man and God that had been temporarilylost in the trappingsof politics and ceremony, we might assume that the patients of Isenheim became inspiring models in Griinewald's private attempt to reexperience and redefinethe nature of a Christian universe. Fordham University,Lincoln Center Campus

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in Cologne,1967. Tafelmalerei, Behling,L., Die Pflanze dermittelalterlichen 1966. et de malades maladies la renaissance, Brussels, Brabant, Medicins, H., et Paris,1946. H., Chaumartin, LeMaldesardents lefeu Saint-Antoine, en de Saint-Antoine Dauphine, Grenoble,1844. Abbe,LAbbaye Dassy, 1928. au de et Colmar, H., Fleurent, L'Art la medecine Mus&e Colmar, Paris,1905. Primitifs, Huysmans, J.K.,Trois 1964. Aschaffenburg, Kehl,A., Grfnewald Forschungen, mittelalterlicher Altarals Darstellung Isenheimer Kiihn,W., "Griinewalds de et Annuaire la SocieteHistorique Littiraire Colmar,II, de Heilkrliuter," 1951-52,20-27. et de Paris, A., Leflaire, L'Htel-Dieu Beaune leshospitalieres, 1959. and Altarpiece theArt ofJanvanEyck,Princeton, Philip, L.B., TheGhent 1971. 2 S., Seligmann, Derbise BlckundVerwandtes,vols., Berlin,1910. Munich,1938. Griinewald, Ztilch,W.K.,Derhistorische

80H.C. Agrippa Nettesheim,La Philosophie ou von occulte la magie(1510), III,Paris,1910,244ff.