Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Painting Gallery
: The paintings are wonderfully described by the audioguide. As
you enjoy the art, remember that Alsace was historically German and part of the upper
Rhine River Valley. (This museum boasts France's only painting by Lucas Cranach.) The
ThreeKings(ofBethlehemfame)areprominentlyfeaturedthroughoutthisregion,because
their heads ended up as relics in Köln's cathedral (nearby, on the Rhine). You'll also see
severalworthwhileworksbyMartinSchongauer(whopaintedthe
VirginintheRoseBush
displayed in the Dominican Church).
The modern-art section is a small but pleasing collection including a few works by
Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Leger, de Stael, Bonnard, and a wall of Dubuffet.
Throughout the museum you'll see small photos of engravings, illustrating how
painters were influenced by other artists' engravings. Most German painters of the time
were also engravers (that's how they made money—making lots of copies to sell).
Isenheim Altarpiece:
The museum's highlight is Matthias Grünewald's gripping
Isenheim Altarpiece
(c. 1515). It's actually a series of three paintings on hinges that pivot
likeshutters(studythelittlemodelsonthewall,withEnglishexplanationsnearby).Asthe
church calendar changed, priests would change the painting by opening or closing these
panels. Designed to help people in a medieval hospital endure horrible skin diseases (such
as St. Anthony's Fire, later called rye ergotism)—long before the age of painkillers—it's
oneofthemostpowerfulpaintingseverproduced.GermansknowthispaintinglikeAmer-
icans know the
Mona Lisa
.
