The Birth of Light
The Spiritual Message of the Isenheim Altarpiece
a lecture by
Reijo Oksanen
at the Studium Catholicum's Angelicum Hall
at 7 p.m. on May 17, 2019
Opening Music
Paul Hindemith's Meditation
Ada Koivukangas, viola, and Ossi Tanner, piano
Reijo Oksanen
at the Studium Catholicum's Angelicum Hall
at 7 p.m. on May 17, 2019
Opening Music
Paul Hindemith's Meditation
Ada Koivukangas, viola, and Ossi Tanner, piano
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Between 1512 and 1516 the artists Matthias Grünewald and Niclaus of Haguenau created the work of spiritual art today known as the Isenheim Altarpiece, the former being the painter of the twelve panels of the altarpiece and the latter being responsible for the sculptured part of the piece. The altarpiece was made for the Antonite Order's monastic complex at Issenheim, a village about 15 miles south of Colmar in present-day France.
Reijo Oksanen's lecture on the Isenheim Altarpiece at the Studium in May 2019 is based on 15 years of work in Colmar, including participation in seminars held by his wife Agnes Hidveghy, as well as on membership of the ars sacra life workshop. |
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The Isenheim Altarpiece is a polyptych and decorated the high altar of the monastery hospital’s chapel until the French Revolution. It was commissioned by Guy Guers, who served as the institution’s preceptor from 1490 to 1516.
The twelve panels of the Isenheim Altarpiece, one of the greatest works of art in Western culture, can only be understood from the perspective of the worldview of its creators. It takes some studies to gain an understanding of it and personal experiences on the spiritual way are also helpful.
Nonetheless the complexity and ingenuity of the work has an immediate effect on the viewer. The artistic and technical skills of Grünewald impress art experts. There are few who have the knowledge necessary to comprehend the precise mathematical and geometric accuracy of the paintings and the consistency of their statements.
The Altar bears witness to the deliberate way taken by its creators and addresses the knowledge that inherently dwells in each person. The direct connection with the images clarifies the inner orientation and contributes to a mental healing process on the way to becoming whole.
The lecture encourages a direct connection between innermost personal experiences and the basic structures of the spiritual way expressed in Christian images. The images communicate directly with our soul. It only needs hints to connect us to the message of a millennia-old spiritual tradition. I would like to convey these hints with the lecture, illustrated by pictures, in order to enable the participants to gain a personal relationship with the messages of the Altar.
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In recent decades, the awareness has grown in Europe that theories alone do not help us. What we need is our own experiences, but we also need to understand them. The Isenheim Altar helps us to this kind of understanding.In no spiritual teaching in any other tradition have I found such a clear, complex description of the cosmic place of man, of his task and of his way of developmental realisation, as in this altar.
The knowledge of the cosmic mission of man slumbers in the heart of every human being. For this knowledge to become active, it must be touched and awakened. It is the knowledge of the one reality that we all experience in an individual way. Plato called the world between unity and the world of manifestations, "the world of ideas." This "world of ideas" forms the connection between multiplicity and unity. We would call this today Cosmic information. This cosmic information is shown in images on the altar.
The twelve panels of the Isenheim Altarpiece, one of the greatest works of art in Western culture, can only be understood from the perspective of the worldview of its creators. It takes some studies to gain an understanding of it and personal experiences on the spiritual way are also helpful.
Nonetheless the complexity and ingenuity of the work has an immediate effect on the viewer. The artistic and technical skills of Grünewald impress art experts. There are few who have the knowledge necessary to comprehend the precise mathematical and geometric accuracy of the paintings and the consistency of their statements.
The Altar bears witness to the deliberate way taken by its creators and addresses the knowledge that inherently dwells in each person. The direct connection with the images clarifies the inner orientation and contributes to a mental healing process on the way to becoming whole.
The lecture encourages a direct connection between innermost personal experiences and the basic structures of the spiritual way expressed in Christian images. The images communicate directly with our soul. It only needs hints to connect us to the message of a millennia-old spiritual tradition. I would like to convey these hints with the lecture, illustrated by pictures, in order to enable the participants to gain a personal relationship with the messages of the Altar.
***
In recent decades, the awareness has grown in Europe that theories alone do not help us. What we need is our own experiences, but we also need to understand them. The Isenheim Altar helps us to this kind of understanding.In no spiritual teaching in any other tradition have I found such a clear, complex description of the cosmic place of man, of his task and of his way of developmental realisation, as in this altar.
The knowledge of the cosmic mission of man slumbers in the heart of every human being. For this knowledge to become active, it must be touched and awakened. It is the knowledge of the one reality that we all experience in an individual way. Plato called the world between unity and the world of manifestations, "the world of ideas." This "world of ideas" forms the connection between multiplicity and unity. We would call this today Cosmic information. This cosmic information is shown in images on the altar.
Where does the knowledge come from?
The transmitters of this knowledge came from the Middle East, reaching the Christian world through Spain, and through what the Crusades brought back as spiritual finding. Footprints of it can be traced back to Pythagoras, who brought it from Egypt to Greece. Transmitted through several generations, the knowledge in the school of Plato has clearly reappeared. Plato's disciples brought it to the Middle East, to the Arabs, where knowledge was enriched by other sources. Through the spread of the Ottoman Empire, the bearers of this knowledge, the Sufi orders, came to Europe and fertilised the Christian world with it.
The brotherhood of the Anthonites was given the task of passing on this knowledge. At the end of their time, they commissioned Grünewald to condense their tradition into images. This is how one of the greatest works of art in Western culture, the Isenheim Altar, was created. It can only be understood from the perspective of immediate, mystical experience
The lecture establishes a connection between innermost human experiential structures and the images that have emerged from the knowledge that has become inherent in every human being. Through this connection, a healing process can begin. At that time, the Altar gave orientation to terminally ill people so that they could find their way beyond death.
When we are ready to give time and inner space to the images of the altar - which draws the crowds to Colmar - they can show us the way to the intention of our Creator: The way beyond death, to our true destiny. Beyond all wishes, the longing for it is implanted in our hearts.
The brotherhood of the Anthonites was given the task of passing on this knowledge. At the end of their time, they commissioned Grünewald to condense their tradition into images. This is how one of the greatest works of art in Western culture, the Isenheim Altar, was created. It can only be understood from the perspective of immediate, mystical experience
The lecture establishes a connection between innermost human experiential structures and the images that have emerged from the knowledge that has become inherent in every human being. Through this connection, a healing process can begin. At that time, the Altar gave orientation to terminally ill people so that they could find their way beyond death.
When we are ready to give time and inner space to the images of the altar - which draws the crowds to Colmar - they can show us the way to the intention of our Creator: The way beyond death, to our true destiny. Beyond all wishes, the longing for it is implanted in our hearts.
About the LecturerReijo Oksanen was born in Helsinki in 1942 and has studied the Altar of Isenheim with his wife, Agnes Hidveghy, in her lectures and seminars in Colmar and Amden, Switzerland. Behind the images on the Isenheim altar, these structures reach into exact mathematical and geometric forms. The same basic structures are effective in every human being and, because of that, the paintings can convey knowledge on each individual's way of experience.
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About Reijo Oksanen and Agnes Hidveghy: |
Recommended as preparation: |
