A German work from the Renaissance era also depicted physical suffering in a most graphic way (Figure 37). Painter Mathias Grunewald was commissioned in 1510 to create for the Abbey of St. Anthony an altarpiece of the Crucifixion. The abbey had been founded in honor of an Egyptian hermit known for his healing powers and its monks were dedicated to the care of patients with skin diseases, including plague and leprosy. The altarpiece came to be seen as having healing powers and was included as part of patient therapy.
FIGURE
37: ISENHEIM ALTARPIECE
BY MATTHIAS GRUNEWALD
