Altdorf at Easter
Altdorf at Easter
Interfaith Chaplaincy
Date: Monday 11 March 2024 - Friday 05 April 2024
Time: 14:30 - 17:00
Venue: Glasgow University Memorial Chapel
Category: Exhibitions
Website: www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/chaplaincy
Exhibition open for viewing most weekdays Monday 11th March - Friday 5th April, 2.30pm - 5pm
Closed Easter weekend, Friday - Monday.
Arranged as a meditation on the Easter narrative, this selection of woodcuts shows the German artist Egon Altdorf (1922–2008) exploring his faith through art in the early post-war years.
1 Christ on the Mount of Olives, 1948,
2 Sleeping Figures, 1952
3 Man’s Head with Cockerel and Hourglass, 1950
4 Christ’s Head, 1948
5 Descent from the Cross, 1952
6 Woman, 1948,
7 Christ Appears to the Women, 1950
In Christ on the Mount of Olives (1), Christ is open-handed, with a chalice and three trees anticipating the crucifixion.
Sleeping Figures (2) depicts the disciples sleeping in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Man’s Head with Cockerel and Hourglass (3) is both a self-portrait – Altdorf wearing his favourite sculptor’s cap – and a depiction of Jesus’s apostle, Peter.
Christ’s Head (4) includes further symbols: Christ’s wounded hands, crown of thorns, a cockerel, and the dice used to gamble for his clothing.
Following Christ’s descent from the cross (5), we see one of Altdorf’s most poignant images:
a Woman locked in grief (6).
Lastly, risen from the grave, Christ appears to two women (7), who hurry joyously towards him.
These woodcuts were part of a broader reaffirmation of faith in post-war Germany, exploring themes of repentance and reconciliation as a means of rebuilding a national identity. From the roughly yet powerfully carved Christ’s Head, we witness Altdorf’s woodcuts gain in assurance, leading to the beautifully balanced imagery of Sleeping Figures and Descent from the Cross.