The Marketing of Antwerp
Sculpted Altarpieces in Germany
Lynn F. Jacobs,
University of Arkansas
Netherlandish carved
altarpieces were frequently exported as part of the
luxury trade that was a key element of the economy
of the Lowlands in the late middle ages and early
Renaissance. Germany seems to have been the leading
export market for this art form, for some 108 of the
about 350 surviving Netherlandish carved altarpieces
are presently in Germany. The majority of the works
exported to Germany were produced in Antwerp A? specifically
63%, with 12% from Brussels and 25% either not yet
localized or attributed to other centers, thereby
making Antwerp the main producer for the main export
center. Antwerp altarpieces were sold mainly in the
Northwestern areas of Germany, the North Rhineland
and Westfalia, during the period between 1500 and
1530. The buyers of these works are largely not known,
though documentation and other forms of evidence allow
us to link seven to monasteries, one to a church body,
one to a religious confraternity, one to an aristocrat
and one to a canon. A surprisingly high number of
the Antwerp retables exported to Germany, perhaps
between 42 and 54% appear to have been purchased on
commission, rather than on the open market. Commissions
thus may have played a more important role in the
Antwerp export trade than previously thought.
My concern in this
paper was to examine two retables in detail (specifically,
Waase and Vreden) in order to shed more light on what
the commissions reveal about the tastes of the German
buyers. Although often commissioning patrons sought
works that were more lavish and complex than those
produced on spec (particularly double-winged examples),
the most common reason that Germans commissioned Antwerp
retables, rather than buying them ready-made, was
to have altarpieces with iconographic content more
specifically suited to their personal needs. In the
case of Waase of c.1515-20 A? originally made for the
Hanseatic town of Stralsund A? the retable combines
parts produced on spec (a formulaic Passion grouping
on the upper register) with parts produced to order
(scenes of the life of St. Thomas Becket of Canterbury
on the lower register). The Becket scenes must reflect
the particular devotional interests of the as-yet
unidentified buyer, interests that may have been conditioned
by the strength of the cult of St. Thomas Becket in
the Hanseatic towns, or perhaps by the relevance of
the theme (i.e., St. Thomas' struggle for the rights
of the church over those of the ruler) for the citizens
of Stralsund, whose city council was often at odds
with its ruler. I argued that the pre-fab and individually
tailored sections of this retable work together to
emphasize the power of the church and its sacraments,
especially the Eucharist, thereby demonstrating how
well mixed-mode production could satisfy the needs
of and reflect the tastes of the buyer.
The second work examined,
the retable of Vreden of c.1520, was a fully commissioned
product, which not only was extremely lavish A? it
has double wings and even a double-winged predella
A? but also has highly individualized iconography throughout.
The closed view of the retable focuses on specific
saints venerated in Vreden, while the first and second
openings, take on a distinctly theological slant,
most evident in the placement of the Crucifixion (in
the center of the sculpted caisse) above the Last
Supper, and the Nativity. This juxtaposition associates
Christ's sacrifice on the cross with that on the altar
occurring in the celebration of the mass. Such a iconographic
grouping is unique within Antwerp carved altarpieces,
and its didactic and theological character must reflect
the patron's values, indeed even his clerical status
(evidenced also by the kneeling deacon in the Circumcision
scene who is likely to be a donor portrait). This
cleric's interest in this iconographic approach may
have been spurred not only by his religious vocation,
but also by a specific desire to affirm the Catholic
doctrine of the Eucharist in the face of Reformation
challenges, challenges that would ultimately end German
purchases of Antwerp carved altarpieces.
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