Yesterday I published a blogpost on a series of fifteenth-century wall-paintings from Bellinge Church in Denmark, depicting scenes from the passion narrative. Since today is Good Friday, I decided to present another cycle of wall-paintings on the subject of the passion of Christ, but these from Sanderum Church.
Sanderum Church is situated on the island of Fyn, a bit to the southwest of Odense, the island's largest city as well as its episcopal centre. The oldest parts of the church are datable to the twelfth century, which was a period in which several parish churches were built throughout the island. The current structure, however, is largely the result of rebuilding in the fifteenth century, when the structure was enlarged. As a part of this rebuilding campaign, the interior of the church was covered in a new cycle of wall-paintings, replacing an existing cycle to which I will return briefly at the end of the blogpost.
The wall-paintings that are currently visible are only part of the original fifteenth-century programme, as several scenes are still hidden behind layers of white paint. As can be seen in the picture above, the central vault is covered by scenes of the Nativity and of Judgement Day, thus encompassing the beginning and the end of the sixth age of the medieval conception of time. The passion narrative, however - the climax of the Christian liturgical year, can be found in the vault above the choir, and would mainly be visible to the priest, and to the common churchgoer the scenes would presumably be visible during the eucharist, although we do not have any solid data about how the eucharist was carried out at Sanderum.
As stated, not all scenes of the original fifteenth-century programme survive. Some of the scenes of the passion narrative are among these, including the crucifixion and the resurrection. Consequently, what remains are four scenes in the vaulting of the choir, showing the passion of Christ from the mocking by the Roman soldiers to Christ being brought before Pilate.
The soldiers place the crown of thorns on Christ's head and mock him
Christ is stripped of his clothes
Christ is bound to a pillar and scourged
The scourging of Christ seen from a slightly different angle
Christ, robed in red to mockingly signify his kingship, before Pilate who washes his hands
It is likely that the original fifteenth-century cycle also included the scenes of Christ carrying the cross, the crucifixion, and also the resurrection. Exactly where these scenes were places is beyond our knowledge, but it is probable that one of them could once be found on the north wall of the choir. During the restoration work, however, the an older layer was discovered on this wall, depicting two scenes from a wall-painting programme executed in the thirteenth century, and presumably running along all the walls of the Romanesque church. The largest scene is interpreted as the story of Ruth and Boaz, while the detail in the middle tier of the wall is unmistakably the Israelite spies returning with the grapes of Canaan.
In the thirteenth century, this section of the church was not the choir. Instead, the choir was located in the apse which was converted to a sacristy in the later Middle Ages. Consequently, the thirteenth-century wall-painting programme would likely have continued into the apse, and it is likely that it contained scenes from both the Old and the New Testament.
Similar blogposts
Wall-paintings at Stenløse Church
The Easter cycle at Bellinge Church
The spherical medieval earth at Sanderum
The motif of the grapes of Canaan
Saint Olaf in Danish wall-paintings
A depiction of Hell from Sanderum
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar