Städel museum in Frankfurt Germany Part one

Friday was COLD in Germany.  It went from being very pleasant in the 80s (F) to being 65F.   I was not pleased.  It was also rainy.  So, rather than trekking to Frankenstein's Castle, I went to the Städel museum.  I'm glad I did although the admission was a bit on the pricey side (€14).   The upper floor is dedicated to Medieval and Renaissance art with a few 17th and 18th C pieces thrown in for good measure as well.

This is what the entrance to the upper floor looks like.  A couple of paintings I found interesting right there are all the way to the right side of the photo, next to the BIG still life.  There are of a couple, most likely both painted in the late 15th Century.

This is the lady wearing a pretty typical 1490's ~ish gown.  Both this one and the matching one were painted by Wolfgang Beurer.

The matching painting of the gentleman.  Love the fur!

Once inside the medieval section, I pretty much geeked out.   There were SO MANY PAINTINGS I had only ever seen in books or online.  SO MUCH DETAIL TO SEE!   SO MANY THINGS TO LOOK AT!  So, the following is brought to you with that in mind.   I geeked out.  Badly.  Ummm...picture heavy post is picture heavy?  

Also, if you use any of the photos, please, just give a link back to my page or, if it's in your documentation, please list it as from Lady Isabella Mea Caterina D'Angelo in SCA documentation.   

I made sure to take photos of all the signage this time.  :-)  So, 1516-1519 for this triptych by...Groot?  I didn't know he could paint...  Yeah, yeah.  Bad joke.  Von Grooteschen.  

The triptych overall.  Click on the photo for a larger picture.  

The first panel is four guys staring at a monkey.  I mean, granted, I stare too but yeah, a monkey.  Love the vibrant colors of the hosen though.  I see some nice buttery yellows and one fabulous salmon orangy colored coming from the back.  

The nativity scene.  Mary is wearing a gorgeous teal dress and has a purple underskirt.

The third panel - notice the crazy hat the lady in white is wearing.

Close up of the nativity because I wanted more details on Balthazar's changeable silk sleeves.  

Next up we have a painting from the 1470s known as the Prophecy of the Tibertine Sibyl.

A look at the painting overall.

A close up of the ladies because I love that green dress in the background.

Close up of the hems and the pup as well as the crazy damask.

Close up of the headgear.

Only in the 15th Century could you get away with purple pants, a reddish pink doublet, and green sleeves.  Just sayin'....

Rogier Van Der Weyden!   This is his Madonna from the 1450s.  He did a TON of fabulous religious theme paintings with some pretty neat details.  

Our Lady is in the center.  In the green cloak is Saint Peter with Saint John the Baptist next to him.  I think the two guys on the other side are donors.

The colors are amazingly vivid.  The donor closest to Our Lady is wearing a purple outfit, lined in a vibrant green.  The gentleman who is further away is wearing a pink overcloak like garment, has on a blue garment, with red hosen.  Also, I just love his shoes.

I wanted to get some detail on Saint Peter's embroidery around the hem.  Also, Saint Peter is wearing lavender - love it!

Joos Van Cleve Triptych from 1524.  

The painting overall.  Saint Veronica is on the left with Saint Joseph of Arimathea on the right.  In the center is the preparation of Christ's body for burial.  

Close up of Saint Veronica.  She is wearing a pink damask/jacquard fur lined coat with a dark teal dress.

Close up of the lady - perhaps Saint Mary Magdalene?-  in the center.  I have no idea what sort of tassel belt she is wearing.  

The towel is from a close up of Saint Joseph of Arimathea.  I just really liked the embroidery.

Also Saint Joseph but I wanted to try and get a good photo of his fabulous green velvet purse.  

Close up of the tasseled edge of Saint Mary's (?) bodice.

Paolo di Giovanni's Saint Catherine of Alexandria from 1400~1410.

This really looks like it was painted yesterday in person.  What struck me most about her dress is the very lovely print.  It almost looks like snowflakes.

This next one is by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.  The painting is called the Crucifixion, the Nativity, and Saints.  It's from between 1320 and 1325.

Now tell me they didn't have make-your-eyes-bleed-saftey-cone-neon-orange.  Tell me.  Hah!

This might be Saint Helena but I'm not 100% sure on that.  Still, she has the brightest orange surcote on that I have ever seen.  Love the black underdress.  I now really want to recreate this garment just because...safety cone orange and black together is awesome.

Even Mother Mary is wearing a nice orange dress with a black cloak.  Also, you can see the bright blue below her so this is just a case of blue getting darker over time.  

The next is actually the carved front of a marriage chest from the 1st half of the 15th Century.

I'm a sucker for cool patterns and the carving details on her dress were just awesome.

This is the central panel - tents in the background which guys and a dog in the front.

Martino di Bartolomeo's Seven Scenes from the Legend of Saint Stephen dated to 1390.

The above is the the three left most panels.  Again, vibrant colors.  There are purples, lavenders, reddish oranges, greens, yellows, and blues.  

Bottom center and right panels.

Upper right panels.

Close up of the bottom right panel because I love the lilac cloak with the buttons at the neck.

Carlo Crivelli's The Annunciation of the Virgin from 1482.  

This is the painting in full.

Close up of Mary - notice she appears to have a headband with her hair wrapped around it.  She is wearing a pale bluish grey cloak, lined in green and a lovely pink dress.  

I wanted to get a close up of the towel/rug/not sure what it is but it's cool in the window above Mary.  I just love the design of it and it's one of those details we typically don't think about in the SCA - why not have a prayer rug or a dish towel out on the window sill?

This concludes part one.  Part two will start with two of my favorite paintings that happened to be right next to each other in the museum.  :-)