Seckau
fresco
In the summer of 1950, a conversation between the artist and Benedikt Reetz,
Abbot of Seckau, gave rise to the idea of commissioning Boeckl to paint frescoes
in the "Angel" chapel. The abbot hoped for a "powerful sermon for all posterity",
bearing in mind the romanesque murals he had seen in Spain. Boeckl had a vision
of a "total art work", the completion of which was to take him a whole decade.
It was to become one of the most important sacred 20th-century works in Europe.
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The
north wall, where the altar stands, shows the Lamb
of the Apocalypse, as the abbot wished. This offered Boeckl the opportunity
for an extensive representation of the Apocalypse. He chose St. John's apocalyptic
vision of the throne. The brilliant white, leaping, seven-eyed Lamb occupies
the centre, flanked on the left by the "strong angel", who has one foot on the
sea, the other on the land. On the right is the counterpart, the artist's personification
of the Hagia Sophia, who throws the Book with Seven Seals to the Lamb, that
he may redeem the world. Around the group are linked the "four beasts": lion,
calf, man and flying eagle.
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The main section is the east wall. Here various
scenes from the Apocalypse are comparatively widely spaced: the pouring out
of the vials of the wrath of God, the chaining of the dragon and Satan for
a thousand years, the four horsemen, the seven-headed dragon, etc. With striking
frequency, angels are depicted in various guises as the protagonists of the
Apocalypse. The figure of the Virgin in the centre radiates calm. Hovering
weightless above her are two angels and the Holy City.
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The
theme of the Apocalypse is continued on the
entrance and window
walls, though mixed with other motifs. The Apocalypse concludes with
the appearance on the south wall of the Son of Man:
"The
Son of Man with sickle and the Lamb stand opposite each other as two identities
of Christ, thus forming the beginning and the end of a powerful series of illustrations."
(Paul Naredi-Rainer)
The artist wanted to leave the window side blank, and only in response to urgent
entreaty was he prepared to paint something on it. In reduced, symbolic form,
he takes up the theme of sin - punishment - redemption. The series concludes
with the word AMEN. The fresco justifiably received more attention than any
other Austrian work of the period.
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