ART: The bulk of Gothic and Renaissance Altarpieces confines itself to the period when the form was at its height and as this stunning book demonstrates, more than enough survived to confirm their status as one of the finest achievements of Western art, writes Aidan Dunne.
Gothic and Renaissance Altarpieces. By Caterina Limentani Verdis and Mari Pietrogiovanna. Thames & Hudson, 421pp. £65
From about the middle of the 13th century to the beginning of the 16th, the multi-panelled altarpiece developed as a distinct form of art. These polyptychs, usually depicting pivotal Biblical events and portraits of the saints, had their roots in the painted panels that adorned the fronts of altars or stood behind them.
By the beginning of the 15th century, they had become extremely ambitious and complex, part of an artistic industry that entailed not only the hand of the individual master but entire workshops of skilled practitioners and subcontractors to handle the daunting logistics of materials, transportation and construction.
Yet, unlike frescoes, which pretty much had to remain where they were painted, polyptychs were panel constructions and hence vulnerable to disassembly and removal. Which is exactly the fate that befell many of them following the suppression of religious orders in Napoleonic Europe.
As this stunning book amply demonstrates, more than enough survived, in situ or in some form, partial or complete, to confirm their status as one of the finest achievements of Western art.
The bulk of Gothic and Renaissance Altarpieces confines itself to the period when the form was at its height - roughly from the start of the 15th century - and, even within that is selective. It features many of the most famous polyptychs, including Grunewald's Isenheim Altarpiece, with its still terrifying image of the crucified Christ, and Piero della Francesca's ethereally beautiful Misericordia Altarpiece, as well as works that are considerably less well known. But it does so in such a vivid and thorough way that the book is more than the sum of its parts.
Rather than being merely a comprehensive history, it provides an exceptionally rich account of the nature and range of the polyptych on the basis of a thorough, informative account of its development and the exploration, in unprecedented visual and verbal detail, of some 30 individual examples. It is this level of presentation, which includes a number of ingenious fold-outs duplicating the structure of several of the altarpieces, that allows you to discover each work for yourself, and makes it something really special.
Not the least of its virtues is that we can see the polyptychs as objects as well as series of images. We also see each in terms of its original construction and location, and in the context of other altarpieces, rather than as rearranged and relocated in various museums and galleries among paintings per se, as is often the case in reality.
Among the works featured is Hieronymus Bosch's surreal, perennially popular Garden of Earthly Delights, the van Eycks' stunning Ghent Altarpiece and Lucas Cranach's Holy Kinship Altarpiece. The book is published in a limited edition of 1,750 copies.
Aidan Dunne is Art Critic of The Irish Times
On the spiritual side . . .
Approaching the end of 2002, we have seen further runaway success for a Glenstal book. This time it's The Glenstal Book of Icons, by Gregory Collins OSB. Beautifully produced by Columba Press, it is selling (and how) for €14.99.
Columba is also responsible for another exceptional book, No Earthly Estate: God and Patrick Kavanagh: An Anthology, by Father Tom Stack. A must for all Kavanagh lovers, it is on sale at €20. Also on this "art and religion" theme, there's the very readable Anchoring the Altar by Mark Patrick Hederman (Columba, €11.95).
For those who may be in a more reflective mood over the holiday period there's the recently published The Irish Catholic Church Since 1950 by Louise Fuller (Gill and Macmillan, €25.38); Measuring Ireland: Discerning Values and Beliefs by Eoin Cassidy (Veritas, €16.95); Texts, Contents and Cultures: Essays on Biblical Topics by Sean Freyne (Veritas, €19.950; and The Soul of Europe by Bishop Donal Murray (Veritas €12.95).
One of the most important books of the year was Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church by the investigative staff of the Boston Globe newspaper and with the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston last week it became fully clear just haw enormous that crisis was . Dealing with the exposure of how clerical child sex abuse in the Boston archdiocese was handled there,or mishandled, it is published by Little, Brown and Company; € 26.50. The proceeds go to charity.
On a more inspiring theme there's Waiting in Hope: Reflections on Advent by Tony Flannery. A short but uplifting little book, it is published by Veritas : €4.95.
Two books by deans (current and former) of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin should also be of interest. There's How Shall They Hear: Sermons and Addresses from current Dean Robert MacCarthy (Four Courts Press €14.95 and Enough Religion to Make us Hate: Reflections on Religion and Politics by the always stimulating former dean Victor Griffin (Columba, €8.99).
Patsy McGarry