Retable in Colmar - Travelers' Intercom

The article on Alsace-Lorraine in e December'02 issue mentions the Issenheim Altarpiece at the Musee d'Unterlinden in Colmar, France.

The famed Retable d'Issenheim is a multipaned painting designed to be placed behind the altar of a Catholic church. The panels are separate and hinged, so each can be viewed one by one.

The paintings are not "lurid' (apparently the opinion of the article's authors). Several, particularly that of the Crucifixion, are better described as realistic, even gruesome, and were done in contravention of the beautiful, sweet, beatific paintings of both christ and his Blessed Mother.

If not famous "worldwide," the retable is famous in the world of Western art.

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