Page 31 - Gallery 19C Nazarenes Catalogues

Folded into his assertion of Art’s heteronymous nature as the even those projects would often be widely noted. Take for example,
handmaiden of Religion, is a remarkable tribute to Romanticism’s his Seven Sacraments (Fig. 20), which occupied him roughly between
exalted vision of the artist, who here supersedes theologians 1846 and 1862. An impressive testimony to Overbeck’s theological
and philosophers as the guide to the realms beyond human knowledge, the cycle stands out, as I have shown elsewhere, for its
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understanding. Completed in 1840, The Triumph of Religion in unusual iconography and allegorical combinations. The idea had been
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the Arts was a bold manifesto. to create a series of monumental tapestries in the fashion of Raphael’s
cartoons for Pope Leo X; but in the end, the project never progressed
Not everybody was pleased. Most of Frankfurt’s Protestant citizens beyond a set of large-scale cartoons, a much smaller version in oil
were scandalized by the works’ combative Catholicism. Many simply tempera, and several editions in print. Nonetheless, the Sacraments
rejected its authoritative posture and narrow definition of the canon developed a remarkable afterlife, multiplied in devotional and
suitable for a new generation of art students, not least the Städel’s theological treatises, and in 1878, long after the painter’s death would
own, while others objected plainly to its subject and use of allegory. inspire a major piece of sacred music by Franz Liszt (1811–1886).
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“What this painting offers us is a recapitulation of the history of art, The Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist was deeply touched
a lecture on its past, which, at the same time, contains a moral lesson by Overbeck’s highly individualized treatment of this core doctrine
for art’s future,” the Left Hegelian novelist and art critic Friedrich of the Roman Catholic faith, a treatment that went bravely against
Theodor Vischer (1807–1887) concluded and huffed: “Here, art turns the rigid neo-Thomism the Church had adopted by then. Over half a
back upon itself and makes itself into its own object. It is an act of century after the foundation of the Lukasbund, Overbeck’s pursued
reflection, and … this alone suffices to show that it is a thoroughly his work with the same heartfelt commitment to authentic self-
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modern product.” Vischer could rant as much as he wanted. expression and inner truth that marked his youth. As such, his Seven
th
Today a staple of any survey of 19 -century art, the painting was still Sacraments are a grand testimony to an unwavering Romanticism.
admired by fin-de-siècle audiences as one of the greatest artworks
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of all time. “Vischer’s essay is written with the verve of a man who
stakes his ego in order to destroy a view that appears false to him,”
architect-cum-art historian Cornelius Gurlitt (1850–1938) noted
with a heavy heart in 1899. “But it didn’t damage Overbeck.” 50

For much of the 20 -century, art history has struggled to come to terms
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with the Nazarenes whose global success and long-lasting influence
did not fit into the triumphant narrative of modernism’s unstoppable
march toward ever-increasing secularization and painterliness.
In recent decades, this narrative has come under attack and made space
for a more inclusive view of the period that has space for alternative
modern masters, for a Gérôme or a William-Adolphe Bouguereau
(1825–1905), and Overbeck & Co. have also celebrated a brazen
come-back, and not only art historians but curators and collectors are
paying attention. Scholarship on the late Overbeck is nonetheless, Fig. 20
with the exception of Michael Thimann’s magisterial 2013 book on
the painter, rare. This is the more regrettable as this crusader for
a religious cause remained productive and popular until the day of
his death. Admittedly, not all of his ideas came to fruition. This was
largely due to his unwavering Romantic idealism that a project must
be designed for its intrinsic value rather than a patron’s purse. Yet

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