Family Tree of Christ

Due to its format and fine structure, the relief belongs to the masterpieces of late medieval visual art. It depicts the so-called ‘Tree of Jesse’, a family tree ofChrist, starting with Isaiah (Latin: Jesse), the father of David. Thanks to a high interest in genealogy, this theme became popular from the late Middle Ages.The record of a continuous family tree, if possible back to Roman times, improved a family’s standing. The way the motif is depicted, namely in the form of a tree with intertwined branches, is very much in line with the formal concepts of Gothic art. Branches emerge from the body of the progenitor and encirclethe half figures of the kings. The faces and individual facial features are worked with utmost attention to detail. The panel was either mounted separately suchas, for example, the Rosary panel at Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, or it was the central panel of an altar. (Barbara Til)