Domestic oratory with stories from the life of the Virgin Mary and Christ

Wallbaum Matthias

(Kiel 1554 - Augusta 1632)

The precious portable altar, of exceptional artistic value, consists of a complex architectural structure of late Gothic design, with figurines, reliefs and applied decorative elements. On a rectangular base set within a frame with motifs from nature, with four panels depicting the Evangelists, is an ancon with three superimposed tiers, at the base of which is a plinth with statuettes and niches, two of which contain the Archangel Gabriel and the Annunciation to the Virgin. In the first order, in the centre, is a bas-relief with the Immaculate Conception flanked by two niches with the figures of Faith and Charity and fourteen panels with scenes from the Life and Passion of Christ. On the outside are the four Doctors of the Church. The second order contains the Deposition of Christ in the centre, the third Christ the Judge; these are crowned by the Crucifixion and figures of the Apostles.

The altarpiece is the work of Matthias Wallbaum, as evidenced by the punches found in the lower left area of the middle panel. It was probably purchased by Cardinal Scipione Borghese before 1619, the year in which it is mentioned in an inventory. The relief depicting the Pietà or Man of Sorrows is taken from a drawing by Guglielmo della Porta, the prototype for numerous paxes and plaques produced from the 1660s onwards.

Object details

Commentary

The rectangular base, which recalls the shape of an altar console, is decorated with a frame of scrolls and nature motifs, with gilded flowers at the corners. The frame surrounds four panels depicting the Evangelists engrossed in writing, accompanied by their own symbol: the angel for Matthew, the lion for Mark, the bull for Luke and the eagle for John. They are depicted in their studies or in an architectural interior, except for John who is in a natural setting. Grafted onto this base is an ancon with three levels or orders, set on a high plinth that acts as a predella; this is subdivided by four pillars into three niches, the central, square one, decorated with cherubs and possibly prophetic figures, and the two side ones, curved, with depictions of the Archangel Gabriel and the Annunciation to the Virgin. In front of the pillars are statuettes of the Virtues. At the centre of the first and main order of the altarpiece is a curved bas-relief with the Immaculate Conception, flanked by two niches with the figures of Faith and Charity and surrounded by fourteen panels with the following scenes: Adoration of the Magi, Flight into Egypt, Jesus among the Doctors, Entrance into Jerusalem, Washing of the Feet, Agony in the Garden, Capture of Christ, Christ before Pilate, Christ Mocked, Flagellation, Crowning with Thorns, Ecce Homo, Christ Going to Calvary, Christ in Limbo.

On the outside, on two sides, are open niches with the Four Doctors of the Church. The second order houses the depiction of the Man of Sorrows in the centre, in a formulation that has become canonical for a series of “paxes” or panels used for veneration. It depicts the Virgin holding the deposed Christ while, at the bottom, the detail of the pincers refers to the removal from the cross that has just taken place. On the third level we find the depiction of Christ the Judge, seated in the heavens among the elect and supported by angels with the trumpets of Judgement; below are the two hosts of souls destined for Heaven or Hell. The composition is crowned by a Crucifix, on a base with a relief of the Last Supper, and the figures of Christ, resurrected and victorious over the devil, and the Apostles.

The portable altarpiece, also known as a domestic oratory, is the work of Matthias Wallbaum, as evidenced by the punches found in the lower left-hand area of the middle panel with the Deposition of Christ. The German artist, active in Augsburg, was an expert in this type of object, the result of the collaboration of a cabinetmaker and a silversmith and extremely expensive due to the workmanship and materials used. The work can certainly be dated after 1579, the year in which the Augsburg city mark, found on the object, was used. This date can probably be narrowed down to towards the end of the century, as Wallbaum was licensed as a master in 1590 (Rosenberg 1922, no. 126, 428). His mark shows a walnut tree, wallnussbaum in German, similar to his name (Pedrocchi, in Una donna vestita di sole, 2005, p. 203).

The object was probably purchased by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a great collector of this type of artefact, usually made by German artists for the Italian market. The purchase took place before 1619, the year in which the altarpiece is mentioned in a family inventory (Faldi 1954, p. 62, cat. 60;). The relief depicting the Man of Sorrows is taken from a drawing by Guglielmo della Porta, a prototype for numerous paxes and plaques produced from the 1660s onwards (see for comparison the examples in Washington, National Gallery of Art; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art).

Sonja Felici