The ššíVyšší Brod (Hohenfurth) cycle, (also known as Hohenfurth altarpiece) ranks among the most important monuments of European Gothic painting. It is made up of nine panel paintings depicting scenes from the Life of Christ, covering his childhood, Passion and resurrection. These paintings were made between 1345 and 1350 in the workshop of the Master of Vyšší Brod that was most probably based in Prague. The pictures were either meant for a square altar retable or else they decorated the choir partition of the church of the Cistercian Abbey in Vyšší Brod.
The work was evidently commissioned by Petr I of Rosenberg, Supreme Chamberlain of the Bohemian Kingdom, who financed the abbey. This series of paintings is a rare example of a complete Gothic altar retable (although there is not complete agreement on the fact that it was a retable, in other words a structure standing on the altar – there have also been theories that it could have been hung on the choir pews or rood screen. Having been returned to its former owner, the Cistercian Abbey in Vyšší Brod, it is being exhibited as a long-term loan in the permanent exhibition of the Collection of Medieval Art of the National Gallery in Prague.
Description
The panels’ dimensions are approximately 99 x 92 cm in size. Each of them is composed of three sycamore boards 2 cm thick that are joined with pegs and covered with linen canvas. The underdrawing on the chalk base was executed in charcoal and engraving. The painting was executed in tempera and pigments were bonded with gelatine. A dark purple poliment forms the base of the gilding; orange-yellow poliment underlies the silver foil. Especially in layering up the flesh tones, the Master of the Vyšší Brod Altarpiece used a complex system of layers and underpainting that was based in the Byzantine painting tradition and does not, therefore, have any parallels in Central European painting of that time. The identical painting technique on all the panels confirms that they were produced in a single workshop.
The series features trios of connected scenes from the Christological cycle that are arranged so that the central one is that of the Crucifixion. They are designed for believers to meditate on and are related to the most important church festivals. A series of motifs that the Master of the Vyšší Brod Altarpiece used for the first time in Bohemian painting conceals symbols relating to the Gospels, as well as to the Apocrypha and medieval theological texts (The Song of Songs and texts by St Bernard of Clairvaux).
The bottom row
The bottom row of paintings represents scenes from the childhood of Christ and relates to Advent (specifically the Annunciation of the spring festival on 25 March) and Christmas festivals. It is characterised by a radiant palette and light colour tones combined with gold.
The Annunciation to the Virgin Mary
The Angel of the Annunciation comes to the Virgin Mary, who holds an open book in her hand. The band of the inscription reads Ave gracia plena d(omi)n(u)s tecu(m). The scene is accompanied by the customary symbols – a lily and Mary holding a veil (virginity), an open book (conception) and peacocks (immortality and eternity). A series of other symbols provides various interpretations (God sending dew from heaven or manna in the desert; a coffer of money). Mary on her throne thus represents the Virgin of the Temple of God protecting the Ark of the Covenant or else the Queen of Heaven, the throne also being her bed chamber. Her crown’s garland of nine stars could be an astrologically-related depiction of the constellation of Virgo. A less evident symbol is the motif of a tree with a small double trunk in the left-hand part which refers to the trees of life and knowledge in paradise as well as to the double incarnation of Christ as God and man.
A notable secular feature of scene is that of the rich garment worn by the angel who comes across more like a courtier bringing the ruler’s insignia (an imperial orb). The motif of the lily on a blue background that appears on the angel’s cloak originate in France and refers to the heraldry of the French rulers of the House of Valois. Mary is portrayed not as a simple maiden but as a monarch on the throne with a crown on her head. The scene as a whole could be connected with the coronation of Charles IV and Blanche of Valois as King and Queen of Bohemia at Prague Castle on 2 September 1347.