Gothic and Renaissance Altarpieces
Late Gothic and Renaissance altarpieces served the function of educating an often illiterate population about religious stories and messages. They were usually large, visually rich art pieces, typically made from wood panels and adorned with gold leaf. Due to the fact that they often served a narrative function, many altarpieces would be laid out in multiple panels, so the viewer could understand the progression of the story.
The Ghent Altarpiece, Jan Van Eyck and Hubert Van Eyck, completed 1432 is a notable polyptych altarpiece. The piece depict Christ as the lamb, surrounded by figures of saints, angels, clergy members and soldiers.
They would often be made in a triptych format with a larger middle panel and two small outer wings that could be closed. For patrons, the use of a personal altarpiece facilitated a more intimate connection to their faith.
Otto Dix
Otto Dix produced a triptych on wood panels that was based around his experiences in the First World War, where he was conscripted into the Imperial German Army as a machine gunner on the eastern and western fronts. He was reacting to the public perception of war as a heroic experience. The work echoes the style of renaissance religious altarpieces, such as the Isenheim altarpiece painted by Matthias Grünewald and Nikolaus Hagenauer, and features a predella below the central panel.
Isenheim Altarpiece, Matthias Grünewald and Nikolaus Hagenauer, oil on panel, betw. 1509-1515. This altarpiece was housed in a monastery that treated the sick. The figure of Christ is depicted with plague sores in solidarity with the patients being treated.
The War (Der Krieg), Otto Dix, 1929-1932, oil and tempera on wood. The triptych echoes the Renaissance style, but the crucifix is destroyed, and in its place is a skeleton. The plague-ridden legs of Christ have become the shell-riddled legs of a corpse.
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon produced a great many triptychs, in which he broke away from religious contexts to explore themes of human emotion. The three panel format allowed Bacon to present different perspectives or psychological states in his work.
Triptych – August 1972, oil on canvas, Francis Bacon
Bill Viola
Bill Viola has also been known to reference altarpieces in his works, such as Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water), a video installation displayed in St Pauls Cathedral that consisted of four screens, each showing a participant being subjected to the elements of nature. The large vertical screens that are installed become a contemporary version of the traditional wooden panels.
I love the magnitude of Viola’s works which explore to the farthest reaches of human perception, to take on a quality of religious transcendence. This elevation of earth elements to the divine greatly interests me, and I am fascinated by the way in which we can translate that which is ordinary into higher spiritual significance, simply through experiencing it.
Stills from Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water), Bill Viola, 2014