Famous Wood Carvers of Germany
The Renaissance in Europe gave birth to an explosion of fantastic art, music and science. Much of the sculpture and painting of the 15th century was commissioned by the Church. In Germany master wood carvers fashioned lime wood into intricate altar pieces, statuaries and tables.
Master sculptors like Riemenschneider and Michael Pacher crafted works that can be admired to this day. Churches all over Germany and Tyrolean Italy have altar pieces created by these famous German wood carvers.
Tilman Riemenschneider
Highly regarded for the subtlety and fine detail of his work, Riemenschneider is accepted as being among the very best artists of the 1500's.
Riemenschneider carved beautiful statues and church altar pieces from limewood. This pale yellow wood is soft and easily carved. The detailed work on pieces such as his "Madonna of the Rosary" and figures of the saints show Riemenschneider to be a master artisan.
The artist was also very active in politics and served as Mayor of his town several times. During the Reformation, Riemenschneider was implicated in a peasant rebellion against the church. He was arrested and tortured for his supposed crime even though there was no real evidence to connect him with the rebellion.
Michael Pacher
This prolific artist was born in the Tyrolean Alps region in 1435. Famous for his carved wooden altar piece, "Saint Wolfgang and the Devil" can be viewed in the Church of Saint Wolfgang in Abersee, Austria. This huge piece of art comprised of wood carving, paintings and gold was completed in 1481.
Pacher studied in Padua, Italy as a young man where he was introduced to the work of Andrea Mantegna. This Roman emphasis on perspective strongly influenced his later works such as his "Life of the Virgin" and the "Altar Piece of the Church Fathers" in the Neustift Monastery.
Hans Multscher
Hans Multscher was a well known and respected wood carver and artist. His works include many Church altars and carved tables. Multscher had his large workshop in Ulm in the Tyrolean region of Germany.
Evidence suggests that Multscher had his early training in France where he learned the Burgundian style of carving. Some scholars suggest he studied with Claus Sluter, the famous Dutch stone carver.
His work can be seen in the parish church of Vipiteno, Italy in the Tyrolean Alpine region. Much of Multscher's work was defaced during the Iconoclasm of 1531.
