Tilman Riemenschneider is known far beyond Franconia as a picture carver, as the “prudent and wise master”, just as an outstanding Main Franconian artist from around 1500. Meanwhile, Riemenschneider not only directed the largest late medieval carving workshop in Würzburg. Rather, he was also politically active, that is, as a wealthy citizen, he held top positions in the city administration. In November 1520, 500 years ago, he finally succeeded in being elected mayor of Würzburg.
Career in Würzburg
Born as the son of a mint master around 1460 in Heiligenstadt, Thuringia, Riemenschneider has been recorded in Würzburg since 1478/79, apparently he was initially on a journey there as a journeyman. In addition, his uncle Nikolaus was an influential notary here. In 1483 Riemenschneider finally came to the city on the Main and was accepted as a painter in the Lukas Brotherhood, in which carvers, glass painters and painters were united.
Mortality was high, so he was married four times in total. However, his first marriage to Anna Schmidt, the widow of a goldsmith, made it easier for him to enter the city and become a master in 1485. This ensured social advancement, because the goldsmiths were among the most respected craftsmen in the city.
Outstanding works
In 1491 Riemenschneider was commissioned by the city council for the free-standing sculptures of Adam and Eve on the portal of the Marienkapelle. Eight years later he completed the magnificent tomb with the realistically portrayed Bishop Rudolf von Scherenberg for the cathedral, and in 1506 he designed the famous three-coat of arms table for the Würzburg town hall. The original is now in the Museum für Franken.
He carved the high altar for the Würzburg Cathedral, an impressive work of art that was demolished in 1710. The Marien Altar in Creglingen is still of a similar quality and dimension. The large orders, such as the imperial tomb in Bamberg Cathedral, were recognition of his extraordinary mastery. He not only mastered the artful processing of the soft linden wood, but also the Solnhofen limestone and the Untersberg marble.
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Top positions in the city
His political career was also steep: in 1504 he was appointed to the Würzburg city council, in 1505 as city architect and in 1512 as tax master. He represented the city several times as a member of the episcopal upper council. In November 1520 the councilors around Martini elected him mayor on November 11th, and in 1521 they appointed him former mayor.
Fatal decision in the peasant war
Riemenschneider was less happy in the great conflict of 1525 between peasants, citizens and the prince-bishop: the bloody uproar of the so-called peasants’ war. When the city of Würzburg decided to join the rebels in May 1525 after the sovereign Konrad von Thüngen had fled to Elector Ludwig V in Heidelberg, he too was drawn into the pull of events. The turning point was the devastating defeat of two peasant armies at Königshofen and Ingolstadt near Reichenberg, as well as the unsuccessful assault on Marienburg.
After Bishop Konrad, supported by the Count Palatine of the Rhine and the general Jörg Truchsess, took his residence again, Riemenschneider was arrested with the town clerk Martin Cronthal, the town councilors and other citizens and imprisoned on the Marienberg. Jörg Truchsess, the commander in chief of the victorious army of the Swabian League, threatened her execution.
Released after nine weeks of imprisonment
After nine weeks of imprisonment, the Prince-Bishop released Riemenschneider and the city councilors against the original feud, ie the oath to keep peace. According to Cronthal, who vividly describes the events in his chronicle of the Peasants’ War, Riemenschneider was “weighed hard and tortured”, and consequently stretched with weights while being tortured; he also lost part of his fortune. There is no evidence that his hands were broken.
In the next few years, supported by his son Jörg, he carried out a few more assignments. He died in 1531 at the age of about 70. He found his final resting place in the cathedral cemetery. In 1822 the tombstone created by Söhn Jörg was discovered there during construction work. The original is now in the Museum für Franken, a copy is attached to the north wall of the cathedral.
Lasting merits
Riemenschneider worked as a stone sculptor and picture carver in Würzburg for over 40 years. Here he achieved material prosperity and high social standing. Within the council he reached the highest offices. Due to his successful artistic work, he is known far beyond the Main Franconian area to this day.
Text: Ulrich Wagner
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