Paumgartner altarpiece

{{Short description|Triptych by Albrecht Dürer, c.1500}} {{italic title}} [[File:Albrecht_Dürer_-_Paumgartner-Altar_-_Alte_Pinakothek_München.jpg|thumb|400px|''Paumgartner altarpiece'', oil on wood, 157 cm × 248 cm. [[Alte Pinakothek]], Munich.]] [[File:Paumgartner Altar old.jpg|thumb|100 px|The right panel as it appeared before the 1903 restoration]] The '''''Paumgartner altarpiece''''' (c. 1500) is an early [[triptych]] painting by [[Albrecht Dürer]], commissioned by the Paumgartner family of [[Nuremberg]]. The central panel depicts a [[Nativity of Jesus in art|nativity scene]], while the wings depict [[Saint George]] (left) and [[Saint Eustace]] (right). The saint's faces are [[donor portrait]]s of the brothers Stephan and Lukas Paumgartner, respectively. Other members of the Paumgartner family are depicted as small figures in the center panel.

In 1616 the painting was bought by [[Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria]] and taken to [[Munich]]. There it was altered to suit 17th century tastes.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Price|first1=Nicholas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RI1fDQAAQBAJ&dq=Paumgartner-Altar+restoration&pg=PT362|title=Historical and Philosophical Issues in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage|last2=Talley|first2=M. Kirby|last3=Vaccaro|first3=Alessandra Melucco|date=2016-09-23|publisher=Getty Publications|isbn=978-1-60606-527-3|language=en}}</ref> This entailed adding helmets, horses, and landscape backgrounds to the portraits of the saints and painting over the small donor figures in the center panel. These embellishments were removed by restorators in 1903.<ref>''Dürer und Grünewald, Der Frankfurter Heller-Altar'', Bernhard Decker, p. 37</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=gFTrAAAAMAAJ&dq=Paumgartner+altar&pg=PA58 Brief article] from a contemporary periodical about the restoration</ref>

On 20 April 1988, the ''Paumgartner altarpiece'' was one of three paintings at the [[Alte Pinakothek]] that were attacked with concentrated [[sulfuric acid]] by the serial art vandal [[Hans-Joachim Bohlmann]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xKyeh1_V7IC&pg=PA283|page=283|title=Albrecht Dürer: a guide to research|author=Jane Campbell Hutchison|author-link=Jane Campbell Hutchison|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2000|isbn=0-8153-2114-7}}</ref> It alone suffered at least $12 million worth of damage.<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/22/arts/3-durer-masterpieces-vandalized-with-acid.html 3 Durer Masterpieces Vandalized With Acid.]" ''New York Times'', 22 April 1988</ref> After 21 years of restoration, it was returned to display in 2010.<ref>Bailey, John. ''[http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/cleaning-up-after-a-serial-art-vandal-20110219-1b0bq.html Cleaning up After a Serial Art Vandal.]'' The Age, 20 February 2011.</ref>

==See also== * [[List of paintings by Albrecht Dürer]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Paumgartner Altar by Albrecht Dürer}} * [http://www.pinakothek.de/en/albrecht-duerer/paumgartner-altar Entry for the ''Paumgartner altarpiece''] on the website of the Alte Pinakothek * [http://www.wga.hu/html_m/d/durer/1/03/3paumg.html The ''Paumgartner altarpiece''] on the [[Web Gallery of Art]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paumgartner Altar}} [[Category:Paintings by Albrecht Dürer]] [[Category:1500 paintings]] [[Category:Collection of the Alte Pinakothek]] [[Category:Paintings of the Nativity of Jesus]] [[Category:Paintings of Saint Eustace]] [[Category:Paintings of Saint George (martyr)]] [[Category:Dragons in art]] [[Category:Triptychs]] [[Category:Vandalized works of art]]