Malerin & Bildhauerin
Lightning strike!
Luther and the Reformation
Pictures by Renate Wandel
When Renate Wandel from Bad Hersfeld approaches the subject of the Reformation, she does so in a very impressive way. Her colors shine expressively, reflecting the “colorful” period of the Reformation, which was unique in history with its upheavals and radical changes. Renate Wandel is confident in her use of the signs and symbols of Christian iconography, but also strives to incorporate the modern symbols of the 21st century. Looking at her work, one notices that she combines history and modern times.
In this exhibition, the image of Luther is at the center of her painting. Looking at the motifs, one might feel transported back to the year 1500. Cranach and Dürer also seem to have felt compelled to see through the eyes of their time, as did Wandel.
The historical figure Martin Luther (1483–1546) is undoubtedly considered the most important personality in Western history. His work was once controversial, but his writings, testimonies, and songs are still of great significance today. Like Wandel, he tried to observe the signs of his time with a keen eye, and his journey to Rome was for him the decision to change the Catholic Church. By posting his theses in Wittenberg, he sent a clear message and was subsequently persecuted.
His intellectual rebellion against the papacy thus began to take its course. A new era began in Luther's life, and Wartburg Castle became his place of refuge.
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Luther's refuge on the Bergfels is also a theme in Renate Wandel's work. The Lutherstube, where he translated the Testament, also becomes a motif in Wandel's paintings. She uses colors and shapes to convey the typical features of the small cell, as well as the confinement in which he found himself. All of artist Renate Wandel's works are marked by the Reformation. With her colors, dynamic structures, and swings on the canvas, she attempts to evoke the spirit of the times. And that spirit is packed into a vibrant array of colors. She also touches on Luther's contemporaries, who are depicted in the large painting “25 Portraits.” We see Pope Leo X, Melanchthon, Charles V, and Albrecht Dürer.
With her pictorial motifs, she looks back on the motifs of the German Renaissance. She looks to Lucas Cranach, Altdorfer, and Dürer and is familiar with the portraits depicting Luther and his contemporaries. Cranach, a friend of Luther's, created many portraits and is considered an important representative of the German Renaissance in art history. In her exhibition, Renate Wandel shows that the Reformation cast its shadow and still has an impact today, not least in her pictorial motifs. Thus, the viewer ultimately also experiences a tour through that period.
Stotternheim—Lightning Strike
Luther swore to Saint Anne that he would become a monk when he escaped death by lightning strike on July 2, 1505. Wandel depicts this moment in her characteristic dramatic style, using color and form that are both powerful and luminous.
25 Portraits
One special feature is the 25-part work.
With her multi-part portrait series, Wandel draws on the tradition of Cranach.
She shows images of contemporaries, people who lived in Luther's circle. A series of paintings depicts these individuals in an almost realistic style, yet alienated and rendered in the modern idiom of the 21st century. In typical profile or frontal views, one believes one can see Cranach's manner here and there.
Luther can be seen in the center, surrounded by Melanchthon, Spalatin, Cranach, and Staupitz. The exciting choice of colors makes each portrait unique in terms of shape, color, and form. Different colors thus create different characters, showing the moods or characteristics of the people. The colors resonate from picture to picture, creating connections.
The exhibition also features other works by Wandel that deal with motifs related to the Reformation. She outlines further motifs using chalk and mixed media. Renate Wandel attempts to draw on the tradition and familiar pictorial motifs of the Reformation in her painting, but she also refers to the modernity of those subjects and deals with the subtext of that period, because in her colors, figures, views, and motifs, one experiences that spirit of the Reformation in a lasting and direct way.
From the landscapes and hinted urban motifs, the viewer can recognize landscapes from Thuringia and Saxony, for she is no stranger to topography. Piece by piece, she opens the landscape book, searching for and finding traces of the Reformation and Renaissance. In doing so, she reflects, asks questions, and juxtaposes abstraction with realistic motifs.
Black, red, and other powerful color variations show the blaze of the Reformation and become points of light in the work. With this, she convinces as a painter of historical motifs that are always subject to change. This exhibition is intended as a traveling exhibition for the Luther Decade.
In this sense, painting is an impetus and a preview of the 21st century, because the Reformation is more relevant than ever.
Erfurt, July 2012
Diana Trojca M.A., art historian
