Artibus et Historiae no. 9 (V)
1984, ISSN 0391-9064Up
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CHRISTOPH STÖCKER - Dürer, Celtis and the So-called Bishop Achatius in Relation to the Iconography of Dürers Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand
This article leads to the conclusion that what iconography manuals have called the theme "Achatius as Bishop" is a false interpretation originating from one Diptychon (Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum Nr. 822). Rather according to mediaeval ecclesiastical literature it should be of Bishop Hermolaus, the Baptizer of the 10,000. He is mentioned by name in the official breviaries of the diocese of Bamberg already at the time of Dürer. The material gathered so far is therefore to be called "Bishop Hermolaus Baptizer of the 10,000".
A correct identification requires that one understand Dürer's altarpiece The Martyrdom of the 10,000 (Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum Nr. 835). It is connected with Dürer's stay in Venice (Hermolaus Epitaph in S. Simeone Maggiore) and with the place the picture was meant for (Hermolaus' reliques in the castle church in Wittemberg). In the painting the just deceased Konrad Celtis, in the main group in the middle points therefore to Hermolaus the baptizer of the 10,000 and in this way to the meaning of baptism. This is the hitherto unknown basic message of the work.
