01 Religious Icon, The Meister von Meßkirch's St. Benedict in Prayer, with footnotes #35

The Meister von Meßkirch

St. Benedict in Prayer

8"x12"

Private collection

The image shows St. Benedict praying in a cave on Mount Subasio which he fled to to escape the debauchery associated with higher education in Rome. He led a very austere life, is known for his power against demons, and is considered the Father of Western Monasticism. More on this icon

Saint Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Lazio, Italy, before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. The Order of Saint Benedict is of later origin and, moreover, not an "order" as commonly understood but merely a confederation of autonomous congregations.

Benedict's main achievement, his "Rule of Saint Benedict", contains a set of rules for his monks to follow. Heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian, it shows strong affinity with the Rule of the Master, but it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness, which persuaded most Christian religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Giuseppe Carletti regarded Benedict as the founder of Western Christian monasticism. More on Saint Benedict

The Master of Meßkirch (active c. 1515 - 1540) was an anonymous German Renaissance painter.

The so-called Master of Meßkirch is named after the eleven altarpieces he painted for the St. Martin church in Meßkirch between 1536 and 1540. His birthplace and apprenticeship are unknown, but he may have studied under an artist from the circle of Albrecht Dürer, such as Hans von Kulmbach or Hans Leonhard Schäufelein. From the 1530s onwards his works seem to display familiarity with contemporary northern Italian painting. Hans Baldung Grien was also influential to his work.

Early on he worked for Count Eitel Friedrich III of Hohenzollern in Veringenstadt. Later he was called to Meßkirch to work for Count Gottfried Werner von Zimmern.

Throughout the master's career his figures had Manneristic proportions. While early on his colors were bright and iridescent, his coloration became calmer and more muted in his last years. More on The Master of Meßkirch

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