Rocznik Muzeum Narodowego w Warszawie (2(38).2013)

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Late Medieval and Early Modern Art

Conclusions
Artistic self-reflection can be found not only in the relief’s iconography, but also in its form.
By depicting Saint Luke as a contemporary artist painting the Virgin from life, Beinhart
could have presented himself as an author of naturalistic mimetic representations. The dem-
onstration of sculptural mastery through the rejection of polychromy can be understood as
ennoblement and emancipation of the sculptor who is displaying the power of his medium.
Such interpretation allows its supporters to regard the relief at hand as a harbinger of mod-
ern art. The authors who comment on Netherlandish paintings depicting Saint Luke paint-
ing the Virgin and experts specializing in unpolychromed sculpture have also suggested
interpreting these phenomena as portents of the modern function of artist and art. If one
accepts such categories of periodization of the arts, one should agree that this altarpiece rep-
resents the transition from “cult image” to “artistic image.”
However, the relief of Saint Luke appears to elude such classifications. First of all, as an
altarpiece it fulfilled the cult function, like other artworks without autotelic motifs created in
Beinhart’s workshop. Artistic self-reflection seems not so much to introduce a new function
of art, as to confirm and justify its traditional sacred function. In the depiction of Saint Luke,
the artist presents himself as the author of cult images. Such function of the portrait painted
by the Evangelist is confirmed by the comparison to the relic of the seamless robe woven
by the Virgin. The monochromy does not change the function of this representation either.
It does not imply a reform of image which becomes nothing but an artistic object. It seems
more probable that the monochrome finish of Beinhart’s relief is supposed to demonstrate
the author’s skills which still serve the same purpose - showing the presence of the sacrum.
As an altarpiece, Beinhart’s work refers to the question of Incarnation and to the Eucharist.
The said ideas accompany the reflection on artistic activity - not only are they not mutually
exclusive, but they complement one another, thereby creating a comprehensible theory of
image. Drawing an analogy between the Virgin and Saint Luke allows to see them as authors
of the material representation of God. The Real Body is present thanks to Mary, while the
depicted one - thanks to the artist’s mastery. Anatomical correctness, illusive representation
of the interior and sophisticated execution of details are not an end in itself, but a means of
describing the sacred ideas to the faithful.
The Virgin creates the carnal form of the invisible God - this act is symbolized by the weav-
ing of the robe. The robe covers the Body, which in turn shrouds the divine nature of Christ;
and the image painted by Saint Luke portrays the holy figures. However, the painting itself
can be compared to a veil. It does not fully reveal the presence of God, but it links the visible
with the invisible. The awareness of this function of art can be observed in many medieval
works." Self-reflection is by no means a new phenomenon - it only assumes a new form in the
late Middle Ages and at the turn of the Renaissance. In Beinhart’s work it can be understood
as a focus on the artist’s function as an intermediary who, thanks to his mastery and ability to
show reality as it is, makes it easier for the faithful to contact the unreachable, invisible God.

99 Hamburger, op. cit.; Corine Schleif, “The Making and Talking of Self-Portraits. Interfaces Craved
between Riemenschneider and His Audiences,” in Tilman Riemenschneider, c. 14.60-1531..., op. cit., p. 224; see also:
ead., “Nicodemus and Sculptors. Self-Reflexivity in Works by Adam Kraft and Tilman Riemenschneider,” The Art
Bulletin, vol. 75 (1993), pp. 599-626.