Life Sketches by Terry Berkson
Wood Carving Is Heart of Altarpiece
Set like a jewel in the heart of Saint Jacob’s Church in the walled city of Rothenburg, Germany, Tilman Riemenschneider’s lime wood altar carving of the Last Supper is an awesome sight to behold.
It was created in the latter part of the 15th century before Germany, as we know it today, existed. I learned about the altar and its creator when a German national friend treated me to an auto tour along the river Tauber, which flows past Rothenburg.
Riemenschneider worked in a Gothic style and produced figures whose faces clearly expressed sensitive, complex inner emotions. While looking at the altar you could almost hear Christ saying, “One of you will betray me.” The various “Not me!” expressions on the faces of the disciples are easy to read.
