Illustrating the Word

Wonky perspectives and weird anatomies. Misconceptions and necessary omissions. Rural Lutheran church paintings have it all. But then, of course, the images were made to illustrate rather than to illuminate, to speak with the art historian Wilhelm Worringer. One could say that this purpose defines Lutheran church art to some extent.

But Lutheran church art has another purpose, as well: to immerse the viewer into the Biblical world. Older Lutheran churches are therefore richly ornate and, more likely than not, filled with paintings and sculptures.

Eksjö old church, built in 1666 and located in the county of Jönköping, was no exception to the rule. It was demolished in 1887 to give way to a newer, more modern one, however. The National Heritage Board gave permission to tear down the old church, though demanded that the congregation should dismantle and store the ceiling for posterity. Few institutions or individuals were anxious to keep the ceiling or to pay for storage but, eventually, some pieces ended up at the Swedish History Museum mounted in the Baroque Hall and some parts of it were kept by the congregation, cared for by the Jönköping County Museum.

Images in 17th Century rural Lutheran churches are sometimes – wrongly – viewed as “gesunkendes Kulturgut” because of their technical faults and lack of artistical freedom. There is, undeniably, a qualitative difference between rural and city style. But the quality does not alter the fact that the painters were skilled guildsmen and often employed by local nobility and officials. We should not confuse these artisans with free masters who were commissioned by the same nobles and officials when they required a striking portrait, for instance. The guildsmen’s skill consisted in decorating according to their client’s wishes, in conveying a specific content.

The ceiling decoration in Eksjö old church was most likely commissioned by Queen Dowager Hedvig Eleonora (1636-1715). The assumption is grounded on the central motif: The Queen Dowager’s crowned coat-of-arms. It is unlikely, however, that the Queen Dowager chose the religious content of the rest of the decoration. In most cases the content program was a result of the local vicar’s wish and the artist’s habit.

Most artists relied on existing black and white prints of Biblical scenes. The figures and backgrounds are therefore extraordinary similar from church to church, albeit they are decorated by different artists over a long period of time. Arranging the images was also done according to pre-existing tradition. The images are invariably either contrasting or typological. The contrasting scheme depicts, as an example, heaven in the east part of the ceiling and hell in the west. The typological scheme shows images from the Old and the New Testament in a way that persons or events in the Old Testament are viewed as precursors to Christ.

The ceiling decoration in Eksjö old church is mostly typological; five paintings on the north side are from the New Testament and five on the south side are from the Old Testament. The two last paintings towards the west on each side depicts the Last Judgement and the Seventh Seal, both from the New Testament. The central part of the ceiling contains, apart from the royal escutcheon, two images: The Fountain of Mercy and one yet unidentified scene, previously called the Royal Official’s Son.

A good example of the typological iconography can be seen in the two images “Jonah and the Whale” and “the Resurrection”. Jonah is the Old Testament prophet who tried to escape God’s calling, was swallowed by a whale, and was spat out after three days (see Jonah 1:1-13).

Jonah’s temporary piscatory entombment is, naturally, seen as a pre-figuration of Christ’s resurrection after three days in the tomb.

Although church decoration was “run of the mill” for guildsmen in the 17th and 18th Centuries it was neither anonymous, nor slighted. Church interiors were large-scale undertakings that could be profitable and often required several people. The master signed the work, of course, but journeymen and apprentices also took part.

The ceiling in Eksjö old church was painted in 1687 by master Jürgen Kunkel and his workshop. Their patterns were primarily taken from the illustrated Bible printed by Matthäus Merian the younger in 1630, some fifty years earlier.

Kunkel and his men followed the engravings most of the time but changed parts of the images for various reasons. The roast lamb in the image is a mere detail in the original engraving but Kunkel made it more central in the Last Supper. This was most likely a way of stressing that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb, the Lamb of God.

Another significant detail in Kunkel’s depiction of the Last Supper is the staring eyes. Traditionally, only Judas looks directly at the viewer.

Kunkel included the staring Judas but painted two other people staring at us, as well. It is highly likely a self-portrait of master Kunkel and one of his journeymen. Almost all church interiors have hidden self-portraits of the artisans responsible for the work and it is not uncommon to find these portraits among Jesus’ disciples. The church painters might have had wonky perspectives but what they lacked in technique, they made up for in self-esteem.