Review by Choice Review
Grunewald has been recognized as one of the greatest and most influential painters of the Northern Renaissance. The Isenheim Altarpiece is famous. Art historian Ziermann, who has investigated other German altarpieces, offers a balanced account of the works of Grunewald based on scholarly publications. Grunewald apparently was conversant with Italian Renaissance work. Ziermann also devotes space to questions of authenticity and clears up confusion between Matthias Gothart Nithart (Grunewald) and other artists such as the wood sculptor with a similar name. Toward the end of the book, the author seems fascinated by the artist's estate and last will. The citations are listed in the back of the book and attest to the author's wide reading. Unfortunately, many of the references do not appear in the bibliography, making for cumbersome use. Overall, this work is a good addition to the growing list of English-language publications on Grunewald. Omissions in citations and the bibliography noted by this reviewer are Ruth Mellinkoff's The Devil at Isenheim (CH, Oct'89); and Grunewald et Son Oeuvre, from a conference at the Centre Nationale de la Recherche, Strasbourg (1976). General readers; undergraduate and graduate students. E. E. Hirshler emeritus, Denison University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Among the stellar artists of the German Renaissance, none surpasses the inadequately esteemed painter Matthias Grvnewald (d. 1528). Known principally for his hauntingly intense Isenheim altarpiece, he is so poorly documented that even his name is apparently incorrect. Ziermann, a former newspaper editor and correspondent, not only synthesizes the relatively little that is known about the artist but also provides a handsomely illustrated compendium of the modest oeuvre of surviving paintings and drawings. Though the text includes effective analyses of the works, it is marred by scholarly disputations better relegated to footnotes. Equally disconcerting are occasional irrelevant excursuses, awkward biblical citations, editorial gaffes, and irksomely reiterated iconographic errors. Perplexing, too, is the book's failure to go beyond the formal and iconographic details of the Isenheim altarpiece to assay its functional and iconological significance in the context of its time and place. While this is not the ideal introduction, the lack of anything better in English makes this volume a recommended acquisition. Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Library Journal Review
