Temptations of Christ, The
Panel
ca.1520-1521 (made)
ca.1520-1521 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This panel is one of many in the V&A that comes from the cloisters at Mariawald. These panels come from ten windows on the west and north sides of the cloister, plus one from the north end of the eastern part. The glazing of these cloisters began about 1510 and seem to have been completed in the 1530s.
Mariawald was a Cistercian abbey founded in 1480. The Cistercians were a monastic order established in 1098 in Burgundy at Citeaux. The founder of the Cistercians had broken away from the Benedictines which had been the first monastic order to be established in Europe, in the 6th century.
During the Revolutionary struggles in France and the subsequent religious upheavals under Napoleon, many monastic institutions on the continent were ‘secularised’ and their buildings destroyed. The abbey of Mariawald was closed down in 1802 but fortunately its buildings, including the cloisters, remain largely intact. However, the stained glass windows had been removed and it is believed that they were purchased by John Christopher Hampp of Norwich. Hampp sold the Mariawald panels to various churches and to private collectors. Many of these were purchased by the collector, Lord Brownlow who had them installed in his new chapel at Ashridge Park in Hertfordshire between 1811 and 1831.
In 1928 the contents of Ashridge Park were sold at auction and a private collector purchased the stained glass and gave it to the Victoria & Albert Museum.
W are able to reconstruct how the panels were placed in the cloister windows. Each window was composed of two openings (‘lights’). Each light was composed of three large panels, plus one small tracery panel. So there would have been eight panels to each window.
From the surviving stained glass panels we can determine the theme of the cloister glazing. Each window had two panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament and two panels with scenes from the New Testament. Above the biblical story panels, were two smaller prophet (or ‘messenger’) panels. These contained half-images of Old Testament prophets holding scrolls with text relating to biblical passages connected with the scenes below. At the base of each window were donor and patron saint panels. These donors were the ones who contributed to the financing of the cloister glazing.
This type of narrative arrangement is known as ‘typological’. Each Old Testament story was a ‘type’ or a prefigurement of a New Testament story (‘antitype’). The prophets on each window would hold text from the Bible relating to the Old and New Testament stories. For example, this panel shows the New Testament story of ‘The Temptations of Christ’. It was placed in the window just below that of the Old Testament scene of ‘Jacob Tempting Esau’ (Museum no. C.120-1945). After his baptism, Jesus Christ retired to the wilderness to fast and pray. After 40 days the devil came to him and tempted him three times. In this panel the central portion is occupied by Jesus and on the right the devil holds out stones to him. This is the first temptation when the devil tempted the fasting Christ to feed himself by miraculously transforming the stones into bread. The other two temptations are seen in vignettes at the top centre and right of the panel. This event was seen to be prefigured by that of Jacob offering the hungry Esau food in exchange for his birthright as the eldest and heir of the family.
The typological arrangement was popular in the Middle Ages. The stories were reproduced in manuscripts and in engravings from woodcuts and collectively became known as ‘Biblia Pauperum’ (‘Bibles of the Poor’). At the end of the 15th century the Biblia Pauperum were printed in book form and sold in their thousands. These books were used as design sources for artworks including stained glass panels.
Mariawald was a Cistercian abbey founded in 1480. The Cistercians were a monastic order established in 1098 in Burgundy at Citeaux. The founder of the Cistercians had broken away from the Benedictines which had been the first monastic order to be established in Europe, in the 6th century.
During the Revolutionary struggles in France and the subsequent religious upheavals under Napoleon, many monastic institutions on the continent were ‘secularised’ and their buildings destroyed. The abbey of Mariawald was closed down in 1802 but fortunately its buildings, including the cloisters, remain largely intact. However, the stained glass windows had been removed and it is believed that they were purchased by John Christopher Hampp of Norwich. Hampp sold the Mariawald panels to various churches and to private collectors. Many of these were purchased by the collector, Lord Brownlow who had them installed in his new chapel at Ashridge Park in Hertfordshire between 1811 and 1831.
In 1928 the contents of Ashridge Park were sold at auction and a private collector purchased the stained glass and gave it to the Victoria & Albert Museum.
W are able to reconstruct how the panels were placed in the cloister windows. Each window was composed of two openings (‘lights’). Each light was composed of three large panels, plus one small tracery panel. So there would have been eight panels to each window.
From the surviving stained glass panels we can determine the theme of the cloister glazing. Each window had two panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament and two panels with scenes from the New Testament. Above the biblical story panels, were two smaller prophet (or ‘messenger’) panels. These contained half-images of Old Testament prophets holding scrolls with text relating to biblical passages connected with the scenes below. At the base of each window were donor and patron saint panels. These donors were the ones who contributed to the financing of the cloister glazing.
This type of narrative arrangement is known as ‘typological’. Each Old Testament story was a ‘type’ or a prefigurement of a New Testament story (‘antitype’). The prophets on each window would hold text from the Bible relating to the Old and New Testament stories. For example, this panel shows the New Testament story of ‘The Temptations of Christ’. It was placed in the window just below that of the Old Testament scene of ‘Jacob Tempting Esau’ (Museum no. C.120-1945). After his baptism, Jesus Christ retired to the wilderness to fast and pray. After 40 days the devil came to him and tempted him three times. In this panel the central portion is occupied by Jesus and on the right the devil holds out stones to him. This is the first temptation when the devil tempted the fasting Christ to feed himself by miraculously transforming the stones into bread. The other two temptations are seen in vignettes at the top centre and right of the panel. This event was seen to be prefigured by that of Jacob offering the hungry Esau food in exchange for his birthright as the eldest and heir of the family.
The typological arrangement was popular in the Middle Ages. The stories were reproduced in manuscripts and in engravings from woodcuts and collectively became known as ‘Biblia Pauperum’ (‘Bibles of the Poor’). At the end of the 15th century the Biblia Pauperum were printed in book form and sold in their thousands. These books were used as design sources for artworks including stained glass panels.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Temptations of Christ, The (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Clear and coloured glass with painted details and yellow (silver stain) |
| Brief description | Clear and coloured glass with painted details and yellow (silver) stain. Depicting the Three Temptations of Christ in the Wilderness. From the cloisters of the Abbey of Mariawald, German (Lower Rhine), c.1516-22 |
| Physical description | Jesus Christ stands barefooted on the left wearing a blue gown. Facing him in profile on the right is the devil with pointed ears and long talon-like fingernails. The devil wears a purple gown over which is a white mantle with yellow trim. He has a hood on his head which fastens around his neck; two yellow tassels dangle on either side of a central yellow fastening. The devil is holding stones. The scene is set within a landscape although flanked by two Renaissance-style columns. In the background is a large fortified town with a central tower on which can be seen the diminutive figures of Christ and the devil. In the top right there is a small scene of Christ, an angel and a naked devil being pushed off the cliff edge. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | unu[m] cred[e] nec iures vane per [ipsum] |
| Credit line | Given by Mr E. E. Cook |
| Object history | In the cloister of Mariawald until about 1802. From about 1811 until 1928 it was installed in the Chapel at Ashridge Park, Hertfordshire. (12 July 1928) Sold at Sotheby's. The glazing of the Mariawald cloister, confined to ten windows on the west and north sides and one at the north end of the east walk, and made up entirely of two-light windows, seems to have started at the beginning of the second decade of the 16th century and probably continued until the early 1530s. From the surviving panels and the existing windows it can be seen that the programme was made up of paired Old and New Testament scenes arranged typologically one above the other (New Testament at the second level, Old Testament in the third), as in the Biblia Pauperum, with donor panels placed on the lowest level. A prophet with a scroll occupied the cusped head of each light. Believed to be from the sixth window in the cloisters of Mariawald |
| Historical context | This panel depicts the Three Temptations of Christ. The main image in the forefront depicts the first temptation in which the Devil encourages Christ, who is fasting in the wilderness, to use His power to change stones into bread. In the centre background the Devil is encouraging Christ to cast Himself down, as if He were truly Divine he would be rescued. In the background to the right the Devil offers Christ dominion over all earthly kingdoms.Christ is accompanied by an administering angel. This panel would have been paired with the Old Testament scene of Esau Giving Up His Birthright (see C.120-1945). Mariawald was a Cistercian abbey founded in 1480. The Cistercians were a monastic order established in 1098 in Burgundy at Citeaux. The founder of the Cistercians had broken away from the Benedictines which had been the first monastic order to be established in Europe, in the 6th century. During the Revolutionary struggles in France and the subsequent religious upheavals under Napoleon, many monastic institutions on the continent were ‘secularised’ and their buildings destroyed. The abbey of Mariawald was closed down in 1802 but fortunately its buildings, including the cloisters, remain largely intact. However, the stained glass windows had been removed and it is believed that they were purchased by John Christopher Hampp of Norwich. Hampp sold the Mariawald panels to various churches and to private collectors. Many of these were purchased by the collector, Lord Brownlow who had them installed in his new chapel at Ashridge Park in Hertfordshire between 1811 and 1831. In 1928 the contents of Ashridge Park were sold at auction and a private collector purchased the stained glass and gave it to the Victoria & Albert Museum. This panel is one of many in the V&A that comes from the cloisters at Mariawald. These panels come from ten windows on the west and north sides of the cloister, plus one from the north end of the eastern part. The glazing of these cloisters began about 1510 and seem to have been completed in the 1530s. As the cloisters were never dismantled we can reconstruct how the panels were placed in the architectural structure. The window openings in the cloisters were each composed of two openings (‘lights’). Each light was composed of three large panels, plus one small tracery panel. So there would have been eight panels to each window. From the surviving stained glass panels we can determine the theme of the cloister glazing. Each window had two panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament and two panels with scenes from the New Testament. Above the biblical story panels, were two smaller prophet (or ‘messenger’) panels. These contained half-images of Old Testament prophets holding scrolls with text relating to biblical passages connected with the scenes below. At the base of each window were donor and patron saint panels. These donors were the ones who contributed to the financing of the cloister glazing. This type of narrative arrangement is known as ‘typological’. Each Old Testament story was a ‘type’ or a prefigurement of a New Testament story (‘antitype’). For example, the Old Testament story of ‘Elisha greeted by the Sons of the Prophet’ was a prefigurement of the New Testament ‘Entry of Christ into Jerusalem’ which occurred on what we now call ‘Palm Sunday’. The typological arrangement was popular in the Middle Ages. The stories were reproduced in manuscripts and in engravings from woodcuts and collectively became known as ‘Biblia Pauperum’ (‘Bibles of the Poor’). At the end of the 15th century the Biblia Pauperum were printed in book form and sold in their thousands. These books were used as design sources for artworks including stained glass panels. |
| Production | From the cloister of the abbey at Mariawald. In the style of the Master of Saint Severin, Cologne |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary references |
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| Summary | This panel is one of many in the V&A that comes from the cloisters at Mariawald. These panels come from ten windows on the west and north sides of the cloister, plus one from the north end of the eastern part. The glazing of these cloisters began about 1510 and seem to have been completed in the 1530s. Mariawald was a Cistercian abbey founded in 1480. The Cistercians were a monastic order established in 1098 in Burgundy at Citeaux. The founder of the Cistercians had broken away from the Benedictines which had been the first monastic order to be established in Europe, in the 6th century. During the Revolutionary struggles in France and the subsequent religious upheavals under Napoleon, many monastic institutions on the continent were ‘secularised’ and their buildings destroyed. The abbey of Mariawald was closed down in 1802 but fortunately its buildings, including the cloisters, remain largely intact. However, the stained glass windows had been removed and it is believed that they were purchased by John Christopher Hampp of Norwich. Hampp sold the Mariawald panels to various churches and to private collectors. Many of these were purchased by the collector, Lord Brownlow who had them installed in his new chapel at Ashridge Park in Hertfordshire between 1811 and 1831. In 1928 the contents of Ashridge Park were sold at auction and a private collector purchased the stained glass and gave it to the Victoria & Albert Museum. W are able to reconstruct how the panels were placed in the cloister windows. Each window was composed of two openings (‘lights’). Each light was composed of three large panels, plus one small tracery panel. So there would have been eight panels to each window. From the surviving stained glass panels we can determine the theme of the cloister glazing. Each window had two panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament and two panels with scenes from the New Testament. Above the biblical story panels, were two smaller prophet (or ‘messenger’) panels. These contained half-images of Old Testament prophets holding scrolls with text relating to biblical passages connected with the scenes below. At the base of each window were donor and patron saint panels. These donors were the ones who contributed to the financing of the cloister glazing. This type of narrative arrangement is known as ‘typological’. Each Old Testament story was a ‘type’ or a prefigurement of a New Testament story (‘antitype’). The prophets on each window would hold text from the Bible relating to the Old and New Testament stories. For example, this panel shows the New Testament story of ‘The Temptations of Christ’. It was placed in the window just below that of the Old Testament scene of ‘Jacob Tempting Esau’ (Museum no. C.120-1945). After his baptism, Jesus Christ retired to the wilderness to fast and pray. After 40 days the devil came to him and tempted him three times. In this panel the central portion is occupied by Jesus and on the right the devil holds out stones to him. This is the first temptation when the devil tempted the fasting Christ to feed himself by miraculously transforming the stones into bread. The other two temptations are seen in vignettes at the top centre and right of the panel. This event was seen to be prefigured by that of Jacob offering the hungry Esau food in exchange for his birthright as the eldest and heir of the family. The typological arrangement was popular in the Middle Ages. The stories were reproduced in manuscripts and in engravings from woodcuts and collectively became known as ‘Biblia Pauperum’ (‘Bibles of the Poor’). At the end of the 15th century the Biblia Pauperum were printed in book form and sold in their thousands. These books were used as design sources for artworks including stained glass panels. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.237-1928 |
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| Record created | April 16, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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