Roundels with scenes from the life of Tobias Southern Netherlands, c. 1500 Stained glass Ø 23–27.1 cm Transferred from the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts), Cologne, in 1930–1932 (M 613); acquired in 1999 with the support of the Kölner Kulturstiftung der Kreissparkasse Köln (M 702, M 703) Cologne, Museum Schnütgen, inv. M 613, M 702, M 703 11 The small roundels depict scenes from the Old Testament Book of Tobit in grisaille painting with silver stain and iron-red. They show several events in one image in what is known as continuous narrative. For example, the blind Tobit comforts his wife Anna as their son Tobias sets off on a journey further back in the in the depiction. The second glass painting shows Tobias catching a huge fish, with the archangel Raphael standing protectively behind him. In the background, Tobias is shown returning to his parents accompanied by Raphael. The third pane, depicting the marriage of Tobias and Sarah, shows on the left the slaughter of an ox for the feast, while on the right Tobias burns the heart and liver of the defeated fish. By this act, Tobias frees Sarah from the evil spirit that had killed her seven previous husbands on their wedding nights. It can be assumed that these three roundels were part of a larger cycle of scenes from the legend of Tobias. Stories from the life of the deeply religious Tobias were particularly valued in the late Middle Ages as examples of God’s intervention in human destiny. A large number of preserved glass paintings and drawings (see Berserik/Caen 2011) made in the southern Netherlands between 1480 and 1530 bear witness to this. Popular models were used in the workshops over a long period of time and adapted to contemporary tastes as needed, for example in the depiction of clothing. The drawing dated to 1480–1490, now in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle (inv. RL 12952), is considered to be the specific model for the depiction of ‘Tobias and the Fish’. The skilful use of iron-red suggests that the three roundels were made around 1500. Cat. Cologne 1903, 38, pl. 9, 578, 20. – Schmitz 1923, no. 56. – Popham 1928, 178. – Cat. Herbst des Mittelalters 1970, 73, no. 86. – Lymant 1982, 167–169, no. 100. – Husband 1995, 50–51, 64–67, nos. 12–14. – Westermann-Angerhausen 2000, 376. – Westermann-Angerhausen/Täube 2003, 24–25, fig. 24. – Berserik/Caen 2011, 182, 177–183. – Woelk/Beer 2018, 334–335, no. 224 (Karen Straub). – Williamson 2021, 329. Carola Hagnau Tobit comforts Anna 68
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5NTQ=