My favourite sculptures in the Bode Museum in Berlin are four statues in limewood by the German sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider (1460 – 1531). He worked during the turbulent times of the Reformation, had a large flourishing workshop in Würzburg, and was one of the first artists working in wood who did not apply paint to his carvings.
I will introduce the four now and compare each Evangelist to his counterpart as interpreted by another artist.
Let me start with St. Matthew: his Gospel is the first in the New Testament; he was one of Jesus´ twelve Apostles, and is usually portrayed as an older man. Riemenschneider has chosen to show him in the act of writing: he holds a scroll with his left hand, a quill in his right hand. The face is turned towards Heaven, as if looking for divine inspiration. Strong emotion is at play – is he transported into some mystical state removed from the earthly plane? His toga-like cloak places this Evangelist in biblical times – an indication that he was one of the Apostles. The angel, his usual attribute, is absent – It got lost when these four sculptures were separated from the original altarpiece.
Rembrandt (1606 -1669) in his wonderful portrait of the Evangelist St. Matthew brings us much closer to the Apostle because the image goes only as far as his torso – thus drawing us right into the picture. We see a wise older man, who could be a scholar, a judge, a priest or scientist – certainly one of stature and intellect. While writing he looks intently into the distance, struggling to find the right phrase. The angel – usually the attribute by which this Evangelist is to be recognized – is presented as whispering into his ear, may be helping him to form the next sentence. Is the placing of his left hand perhaps an indication of how deeply he is concentrating on his task?
Next in line is St. Mark: you can tell by his cap and collar that he wears the kind of garb favoured by the Humanists, Riemenschneider´s contemporaries. The lion, his attribute, snuggles up to him but looks as melancholy as his master. St. Mark himself is a picture of sadness and sorrow. His eyes are half-closed, his mouth turned down, his head tilted sideways in a posture of distress. This desolation has been interpreted as St. Mark´s reaction to the suffering of Christ on the Cross – the tragedy which he has described in the Gospel, the very document he holds in his hands. One can almost imagine tears running down his face. Of the four works this one is by far the most woeful. In the past a sculptor might well have used paint to express the tears. Riemenschneider, however, succeeds in conveying them through his superb use of the chisel. He constantly changes the surface texture from rough to very smooth and polished.
The approach by Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) could not be more different. St.Matthew is depicted as a handsome middle-aged man peacefully reading a book, most likely his Gospel. He is crowned by a halo, wears clothing from biblical times. His lion looks fierce, not nearly as ‘cuddly’ as the one above. Vasari was a Court painter under the Medici in Florence but is best known for his book Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, making him the first art historian in European history.
Saint Luke, third in line of Tilman Riemenschneider´s group also has a melancholy demeanour though not quite as woeful as St. Mark´s. Tilting his head pensively over his left shoulder – to balance the posture of St. Mark – he seems sad, not grief-stricken. Wearing also a Humanist cap, he neither reads nor writes, but balances a heavy tome on his right leg. Part of his cloak is used to cover the book – since custom required not to touch anything holy directly with one´s hands. The ox, similar to a faithful dog, presses his head against his master, as if to reassure or console him. The animal is of course much too small even when kneeling down, but do we care? The Evangelist seems to pat him affectionately but somewhat distractedly, while listening to some inner voice – a picture of introversion.
Legend has it that St.Luke, at one point, made a drawing of the Virgin Mary, and hence became the patron saint of visual artists. Hugo van der Goes (1440-1482) important Flemish artist in the 15th Century Netherlands, painted mostly altarpieces. This oil panel was part of a diptych – the complementary panel has been lost. Thus we see St.Luke looking intensely at his subject, which would have been the Virgin Mary. He is wearing the Humanist cap which we have seen in Riemenschneider´s figures, and is surrounded by the tools of his trade, pieces of charcoal, a knife and other utensils. Since he is working in his studio it has been difficult somehow to smuggle in an ox. We can see it below the window but it is clear that van der Goes had trouble to fit him in.
St. John by Riemenschneider is presented quite differently from the other three Evangelists. He is much younger, and there are no signs of melancholy or inwardness. He seems to be standing in front of a lectern, delivering a sermon. His right hand is raised as if to make a point while his left hand is holding on to what is probably supposed (anachronistically!) to be the New Testament. His usual attribute, an eagle also has been lost in the process of dismantlinng the original altarpiece.
Riemenschneider has chosen a different activity for each of the four: Matthew is in the process of writing, Mark is reading, Luke is meditating, John is preaching. The latter is not melancholy because he has good news about Jesus´ resurrection and the promise of eternal life. The sculptor follows the tradition of showing John as a young man. He was believed to be Jesus´ favourite Apostle. In the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci he is sitting next to Jesus. I must confess, he is also my favourite.
El Greco (1541-1614), the Spanish painter of obvious Greek origin, created a century later a St. John who could not be more different in mood and expression. This St. John is also young , but there is none of the gentleness and calm peace that we find in Riemenschneider´s carving.
In El Greco we have all the features of the Mannerist period. There is distortion of the body to create a dramatic effect. The arms of the Saint are absurdly long, neck and spidery fingers defying any anatomical reality as is the chalk-like face. The sky is hardly realistic. I am tempted to call him a forerunner of a certain other Spanish painter, Salvador Dali. I set out to compare Riemenschneider´s vision of the four Evangelists with various artists. My quest has reinforced my belief that his group is outstanding and, although little known. Is one of the great treasures in European art.