The Isenheim Altarpiece

About this book

Andre Hayum approaches Matthias Grnewalds Isenheim Altarpiece now at the Muse dUnterlinden in Colmar as a structural and iconographic entity and restores it to its broader cultural context in the early sixteenth century. She interprets the altarpiece in terms of its hospital context then explores how this polyptych functions as a system of communication in relation to contemporary sermons and in response to an emerging print culture. The meaning and motivation behind the direct visual appeal of the Isenheim panels are considered within the liturgy and the sacramental economy.