Triptych Showing Scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Barbara and Scenes from the Life of Christ

Title

Triptych Showing Scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Barbara and Scenes from the Life of Christ

Title

Triptych Showing Scenes From The Martyrdom of Saint Barbara and Scenes From The Christ

Creation location

Salzburg, Austria

Date

c. 1465-1470

Medium

Oil and Gol don Panels

Dimensions

Not Specified

Collection

Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gallery 205; European Art 1100-1500

Inventory number

EW1993-127-2a--c

Photo credit

Purchased with the W.P. Wilstach Fund, the George W. Elkins Fund, and Museum Funds, 1993.

Files

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Game of Heavenly Thrones<br /> <br /> The Triptych Showing Scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Barbara and Scenes from the Life of Christ, Master of the Laufen High Altarpiece dates back to 1467 and is still active today in Salzburg, Austria. When viewing this piece, onlookers are transported into the fifteenth century depiction of Saint Barbara, her torturous martyrdom, and her resemblance in comparison to the life and stories of Jesus Christ on the cross. When thinking about how I wanted to corroborate ties between what I saw, what I felt, and what I learned about this piece, I thought that a board game would tie visual ties to contextual ties quite famously, because what is seen can be used as a window of greater exploration. First, I used a wooden panel of my own fashion to model the altarpiece material used in the original panels. However, when looking at my game board in comparison, an onlooker might notice that the captivating elements of brutality in the original piece are missing. The intent of this was to highlight upon Saint Barbara’s immense beauty. Moreover, this was used to highlight upon her everlasting prominence and memory that stays with us today as we celebrate her virtue and commendable Christian values making up her inner beauty. For, in our time period all we are left with is a rich history of Saint Barbara that is indeed beautiful because of her sacrifices for her faith. This could be a similar message that the original altarpiece took on. <br /> <br /> Even though recognizing Saint Barbara’s beauty is important, her martyrdom is evident and not forgotten, so I used particular materials to honor her depicted trials and trepidation as well. In fact, if we look at the three panels we see Barbara, her long curled locks, and her downward gaze. It seems as though there is a looming sadness even while clad with the fabulous red drapery. That is, until we see the right panel where Barbara is spewing blood from her breasts. This time, here eyes avert upward, and she almost sports a tired smile as if she knows that she will meet her maker. If the viewer takes a closer look to my game board, they would see flesh stained leather spaces used as a pathway in the game. This was to literally model the flesh that was slashed from Saint Barbara’s breasts by the partitioners of the city, and eventually the flesh of her head sawed off by her own father. These game spaces were also inspired by Christ depicted above Saint Barbara on her throne. When looking at the image, vibrant reds catch the eye. They are elegantly ascribed to the piece, and different hues are used to intertwine themes of royalty, beauty, and bloody brutality. So, I used crimson beads to imitate the blood we see dripping from the body of Christ as well as from Saint Barbara as they were tortured. When doing this, I thoughtfully placed red on some of the flesh squares, but not on all to show that sins and the blood are washed away from the flesh of this life because of Jesus’s death on the cross. This is important because Saint Barbara knew Jesus would wipe her scars clean, and hold her in heaven for eternity. She knew that even marred with the blood stained scars she would be set free. She made this freedom abundantly clear to all who would share in the stories of Christianity.<br /> <br /> If we begin to make connections from the start of the flesh path I spoke about, I used her birth year next to an ax to elude to her life not being as beautiful as the game board would perhaps suggest. If we again think about Saint Barbara in the Altarpiece we see her pointing to a tower, her tower. So, I made the path of Barbara’s flesh lead to the tower. Given that hand gesture and the path direction, players might think the end goal of the game is to unleash Barbara from the ties of her worldly beauty after her father kept her locked up to keep her away from potential suitors as he was afraid she might be stolen. However, the three windows that are depicted on the tower in the triptych suggest more. If we look at Saint Barbara’s other hand we see a palm branch; this was an important element of my game as I made sure two representations of palm branches were seen at the end of the game. This leaves players not necessarily knowing whether or not the end goal of the game is to unleash Barbara from her tower, or if the victory comes through martyrdom represented by the palm branch. Further, I used a primary source that told Saint Barbara’s story in poetry. It was understandable and gave the game meaning so that players really would get to see Saint Barbara’s story play out as they ventured from square to square. Each card, depending on the nature of the poetry lines, was given a certain space value letting the player know how far to travel across the board. There is a catch. Any time a player draws a card containing negative elements of Barbara’s martyrdom the card asked the player to move back a number of spaces, and if the card outlined positive aspects of Barbara’s faithful resilience, then the card asked the player to move forward or perhaps get stuck in the forest, or at a praying station. The reason this is important to the form of the original piece is because it fills in the missing holes within the painting. While we may see Barbara in a position of power, with angels guarding over her, flush white with royal garments, and even her naked torn and protruding body parts, we need textual support to fill the holes. I used a crown stamp on each of these story telling cards to simply show that they were telling Barbara’s story and because her golden grown is an element seen in all three panels of the triptych. <br /> Another important piece of the board game is the bridge and the water underneath it. I used this element to represent the importance of showing the crucifixion of Jesus in tangency to Saint Barbara. In other words, this piece was added to sort of “bridge the gap” supporting why this altarpiece did not just show the life and death of Saint Barbara. The water underneath the bridge is used to show that the faith flows through all who believe in what Jesus offers, and as another support to Jesus washing sins away, but I used literal nails on one of the flesh colored squares next to the bridge to show that the washing away of sins came at the price of Jesus’s death. It is at the cross and because of the cross that Saint Barbara converted to Christianity so I put a bible off in a secluded location to model he private faith practices that she had to endure in a family who did not readily accept her faith and we can see that her faith was not accepted in the triptych clearly. <br /> Lastly, I want to talk about the forest of darkness that I named in my game. Jesus’s crucifixion is portrayed in the middle panel and is perhaps shrouded in the most darkness. We do not see the ornate gold details as we see in the bottom three sections or even the bold and bright clothes worn in the outer two panels. Jesus’s facial expression is dull and demure like the background around him. So I named the forest thinking of those elements. Next, I placed a cross in the forest. Again, Jesus is not on the cross in the game because of his everlasting presence because of the passion. Another dark element of this image is the skull and bones scattered about below Jesus’s feet. The Skull is used to depict where Jesus was crucified, Golgatha I placed it on the flesh square again as to signify Jesus’s human death. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Works Cited<br /> <br /> Buc, Philippe. "Chapter 3 Madness, Martyrdom, and Terror." Holy War, Martyrdom, and Terror: Christianity, Violence, and the West. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania, 2015. 121 51. Print.<br /> <br /> Cazelles, Brigitte. “The Life of Saint Barbara.” The Lady as Saint: A Collection of French Hagiographic Romances of the Thirteenth Century, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991, pp. 102–112, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt130jv0n.9.<br /> <br /> Moore, Stephen E. Church Words: Origins and Meanings. Cincinnati, OH: Forward Movement Publications, 1996. Print.<br /> <br /> NIV Bible. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2007. Print.<br /> <br /> Os, H. W. Van. The Art of Devotion in the Late Middle Ages in Europe, 1300-1500. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1994. Print<br /> <br /> Ross, Ellen M. The Grief of God: Images of the Suffering Jesus in Late Medieval England. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. Print.<br /> <br /> Ryan, Columba. “THE MEANING OF MARTYRDOM.” Blackfriars, vol. 34, no. 397, 1953, pp. 164–171., www.jstor.org/stable/43814008.<br /> <br /> Stroumsa, Guy G. “SACRIFICE AND MARTYRDOM IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.” Archivio Di Filosofia, vol. 76, no. 1/2, 2008, pp. 145–154., www.jstor.org/stable/24488402.<br /> <br /> VAN DER PLOEG, KEES. “How Liturgical Is a Medieval Altarpiece?” Studies in the History of Art, vol. 61, 2002, pp. 102–121., www.jstor.org/stable/42622628.<br /> <br /> Weed, Stanley E. “Venerating the Virgin Martyrs: The Cult of the ‘Virgines Capitales’ in Art, Literature, and Popular Piety.” The Sixteenth Century Journal, vol. 41, no. 4, 2010, pp. 1065–1091., www.jstor.org/stable/40997602.

Citation

“Triptych Showing Scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Barbara and Scenes from the Life of Christ,” Responding to Medieval Art, accessed April 23, 2024, https://medievalresponses.omeka.net/items/show/26.