gravure au burin sur cuivre, entre 1475 et 1480
Nouvelle acquisition
Colmar, musée d'Unterlinden.
Photo : O. Zimmermann
BACKGROUND
Even before he founded the Société Schongauer (the association that manages and administers the Unterlinden Museum), Louis Hugot (1805–1864), an archivist and librarian for the city of Colmar, sought to build up a print collection for the municipal library, with the aim of “influencing the taste and mindset of the public”. His principal aim was to acquire engravings by Martin Schongauer, none of which were in the city’s collections, and was not surprisingly prompted to name the association formed to manage the museum after this influential artist. However, it was only in 1978 that the museum was able to acquire its first original engraving by the artist, The Angel of the Annunciation. Two additional and exceptional engravings were acquired the following year, God the Father and the Blessed Virgin Enthroned and Saint Christopher, thus finally marking the firm commitment by the institution to assemble a collection of works by this native son of Colmar. As a testament to Louis Hugot’s vision and a reflection of the tenacity of the various curators who have served at the museum since the late 1970s, the Unterlinden Museum now possesses 85 engravings by Martin Schongauer. The most prestigious of the artist’s surviving works, such as the Censer, the Episcopal Cross, the Temptation of Saint Anthony and Saint John at Patmos, are today among the works proudly held by the Unterlinden Museum.
Martin SCHONGAUER
(Colmar, um 1445 – Breisach, 1491)
Martin Schongauer was born in Colmar around 1445 to a family of goldsmiths originally from Augsburg. The artist’s life story remains incomplete as very few archival documents have survived into the present day. Without a doubt, his works provide more information in this regard than do any written documents. Hence, although there is no existing proof of a voyage by Schongauer to the south of the Netherlands, his paintings, engravings and drawings clearly attest to this fact. His art achieves a balance between Flemish naturalism and the idealised softness of the Upper Rhine painters.
Paintings attributed to Martin Schongauer are rare; apart from the Orliac Altarpiece, the Dominican Altarpiece (Unterlinden Museum, Colmar) and the Virgin at the Rose Bush (Dominican Church, Colmar), four small surviving panels have been authenticated as works by the artist: the Nativity (National Gallery, Berlin), the two depictions of the Holy Family (Alte Pinacothek, Munich and Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) and the Madonna and Child in a Window (J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles). Precious and delicate, these four works, beyond their simple and accessible iconography, prompted the faithful to contemplate the mysteries of the Incarnation and the Eucharist. To this short list must be added the murals at the Collegiate Church of Breisach illustrating the Last Judgement. Schongauer worked on this masterpiece from 1488 until his death on 2 February 1491..
THE TECHNIQUE OF ENGRAVING
Intaglio or copper plate engraving, which was invented in the goldsmiths’ workshops of the Upper Rhine around 1430, quickly spread to the Netherlands, Germany, Burgundy, Italy and beyond.
A design is incised into a metal plate with a cutting tool called a burin. The copper plate is then inked, excess ink is wiped off and a slightly damp sheet of paper is pressed against it, which picks up the ink from the grooves. Several printings are often executed by the artist, who may change the quantity of ink used, wipe the plate in varying degrees or modify the incisions made if the first printing is not to his or her liking.