Medieval altarpieces in Hessen

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Klaus Niehr; Professor Dr. Jochen Sander; Professor Dr. Ulrich Schütte
• Subject Area: Art History
• Term: from 2011 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 202096027

The project seeks a full documentation and an art historical analysis of all the altarpieces, which have been created for churches to around 1530 in the area of today's federal state of Hessen. Examined are also many works that are no longer in their original location, but in public and private collections today. They shall be re-interpreted as part of a lost function relationship. In this way there will be developed an overall view, which not only considers the original form of appearance, the inner connections and the conditions of the reception of this generally only in single analysis examined genre, but also the history of reception of single altarpieces up to the present age.A two-volume publication will discuss in an analysis volume the studied works in the context of the current research on altarpieces from which the overallobjectified questions of the project are oriented. The second volume wants to present an exemplary level of individual objects as well as object groups, especially in their spatial references within the respective religious architecture. Contributions of the 2014 congress and the research results of other professional colleagues are planned to be part of this publication.The project work includes photographic documentation, development, research and publication of the works. The results will be presented as part of the individual works in an online database (pictorial representation and indexing of all objects).Basis of the analysis of the objects first is a determination of the types and forms of the altarpieces, the material and artistic genesis of the picture and the artistic instruments (under the use of modern technological methods of investigating paintings). In order to determine the liturgical piety and historical features of the altarpiece in detail, it will be necessary to combine the traditional iconographic approaches together with an analysis of the imagery and narrative structures. To answer questions of the mediation between liturgical function and theological content on the one hand and the reception and perception conditions and the art geographical classifications on the other hand with sufficient stringency there is a clear emphasis on the analysis of spatial and material contexts in which the altarpieces are created. The particular historical factors (client, donator) have to be considered within the analysis of the objects .

• DFG Programme: Research Grants