Тилман Рименшнайдер: Немец суретшісі және ағаш оюшысы

German sculptor and woodcarver (c.1460–1531)

Tilman Riemenschneider ( 1460 – 7 July 1531) was a German sculptor and woodcarver active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between the Late Gothic, to which he essentially belonged, and Northern Renaissance art, a master in stone and limewood. He was also a local politician in the council of Würzburg. Most of his subjects are religious, including several very large and spectacular carved wood altarpieces, as well as tombs in stone, and statues. He was largely forgotten soon after his death, but rediscoved by art historians in the 19th century.

Tilman Riemenschneider was born around the year 1460 at Heiligenstadt im Eichsfeld in present day Thuringia. When Riemenschneider was about five years old, his father was involved in a violent political conflict, the , so the family had to leave Heiligenstadt and all their possessions. They resettled in Osterode, where his father became Master of the Mint (a good position at that time) and where Riemenschneider spent his childhood years. Riemenschneider likely came to Würzburg for the first time at the age of 18 in 1478/79. In 1490, the town council of Münnerstadt ordered an altarpiece for the altar of St Maria Magdalena, the parish church, which included a carving of Mary Magdalene with six angels. It was set up in 1492. In 1491, the town council of Würzburg ordered two life sized stone figures of Adam and Eve for the south portal of the council's church, the Marienkapelle (erected in 1493). Together with the rest of the council, Tilman was set free after two months, with loss of most of his property. The only order he is known to have received after this was work in 1527 for a Benedictine nunnery at Kitzingen. Until his death on 7 July 1531 at Würzburg, he led a retired life with his fourth wife. His son Jörg from his second marriage continued the workshop after his death. Due to his loss of status, Riemenschneider was soon forgotten as an artist, other than for the two gravestones of Bishops Rudolf von Scherenberg and Lorenz von Bibra side by side in Würzburg Cathedral. Only when his gravestone was discovered in 1822 between Würzburg Cathedral and Neumünster was his outstanding position in Gothic sculpture recognized by a wider audience. Unlike Albrecht Dürer or Veit Stoss, Riemenschneider acquired true fame only posthumously.

The sculptures and woodcarvings of Tilman Riemenschneider are in the late Gothic style, although his later work show mannerist characteristics. Notably the tomb for Lorenz von Bibra (see below) is considered as one of the pieces marking the transition from Gothic to Renaissance art. His work is characterized by the expressiveness of the figurines' faces (often shown with an inward look, as in the 'self portrait') and by their detailed and richly folded clothing. The emphasis on expression of inner emotions sets Riemenschneider's work apart from that of his immediate predecessors. Riemenschneider's early success as a sculptor was due to the plasticity of his works, with great care being taken of modeling the folds of garments. This way of sculpting the garments as well as the typical oval faces and almond shaped eyes were modelled on art from the Upper Rhine region of the 1470s, implying that Riemenschneider may have learned his trade either there or at Ulm. Later works lost some of the volume of the early sculptures, allowing a more efficient production. Riemenschneider is seen today as one of the first sculptors of the 15th century who did not have all his figures painted. Prior to the 1490s, almost every sculpture had been painted in several layers by a different artist, who often attracted more admiration than the sculptor. The reasons for shifting to a new type of art, where the wood was visible, are still debated by art historians. Riemenschneider worked in both wood and stone. It is assumed he learned stone carving first and only later turned to wood carving. Some wooden figures, though unmistakably his own work, show some signs of less than perfect choice of wood or handling. Souren Melikian places Riemenschneider's best work, such as the Virgin listening to the Annunciation, in the same league as the oil paintings of Albrecht Dürer. Art historian Kenneth Clark views the Riemenschneider figures as showing the serious personal piety in Germany in the late fifteenth century and as harbingers of the coming Reformation. Among his successors and/or pupils were Peter Breuer (woodcarver) and Philipp Koch.