The Nosseni Altar is a Renaissance altar crafted by Swiss sculptor Giovanni Maria Nosseni (1544–1620) in the year 1606. This artwork is Nosseni's most significant creation. Originally serving as the main altar of Dresden's Sophienkirche, the altar suffered extensive damage during the bombing of the city in February 1945. Following its restoration in the 1990s, the Nosseni Altar has been housed in the Loschwitz church since 2002.Markus Hunecke: Die Sophienkirche im Wandel der Geschichte. benno, Leipzig 1999, pp. 106.
The altar's construction engaged several Dresden sculptors, and it stands as a notable example of Mannerist art from the Electorate of Saxony around 1600. It reflects the influence of Italian artists while also incorporating elements of local artistic traditions tailored to a 'Nordic taste.' The Nosseni altar has been a protected monument since 1979.
History Foundation by Sophie of Brandenburg
The origin of the Nosseni Altar can be traced back to a donation made by Sophie of Brandenburg in the year 1606. Following the passing of her husband, Saxon Elector Christian I, Sophie effectively championed the cause of Lutheranism in Saxony, countering the Calvinist endeavors led by Nikolaus Krell after his early death in 1591. Following her efforts, the former church of the Franciscan monastery adjacent to Dresden Castle underwent a conversion to Protestantism from 1599 to 1602. The newly established Protestant church was named the Sophienkirche in honor of Sophie of Brandenburg upon its completion in 1602.Dies betraf den „roten Marmor für die Säulen, schwarzen Marmor für die Rücklagen, dunkelgrünen Zöblitzer Serpentin für die Säulenbasen, dazu hellen Alabaster“ für Reliefs und Ornamente. Vgl. Walter Hentschel: Nosseni und die dritte Walther-Generation. In: Walter Hentschel: Dresdner Bildhauer des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts. Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger, Weimar 1966, pp. 67–88, hier pp. 69.
For the new Sophienkirche, Sophie of Brandenburg donated the altar in 1606, which was erected in 1607 under Giovanni Maria Nosseni in its northern choir. Sculptors involved in its execution were probably the brothers Sebastian Walther and Christoph Walther IV (c. 1572–1626), both of whom were second cousins to the accomplished sculptor Hans Walther. The construction of the altar, which incurred a cost of 3500 florins, utilized various types of stone materials obtained from quarries under the management of Nosseni. The altar does not feature any references to its donor, such as a portrait or a coat of arms. Therefore, the donation is now considered a kind of "testimony of gratitude and faith" of Sophie of Brandenburg.Heinrich Magirius: Der Nosseni-Altar aus der Sophienkirche in Dresden. Verlag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Leipzig 2004, pp. 16.
Destruction in 1945
Sections of the Sophienkirche altar had already been protected from potential destruction before the air raids on Dresden on February 13, 1945. Thus, the Lamentation relief, along with sculptures representing the Risen Christ, Death, and the Devil, as well as some angels and putti were removed and stored. Additionally, the predella relief was walled up.Eberhard Münzner (Denkmalschutzamt Dresden): Archäologische Rekonstruktion des Nossenialtars. in: Dresden. Denkmalschutz und Denkmalpflege. Herausgegeben vom Amt für Denkmalschutz Dresden zusammen mit dem Gehrig-Verlag Merseburg. Merseburg 2002, pp. 24 f. The bombing caused significant damage to the altar. Before the conclusion of World War II, the initial figural parts of the altar were recovered. Other figurines, such as the five on the main floors, were saved from the rubble before the collapse of the church vault of the Sophienkirche in Dresden in February 1946.Heinrich Magirius: Der Nosseni-Altar aus der Sophienkirche in Dresden. Verlag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Leipzig 2004, pp. 3. The altar structure itself remained in the church ruins. The predella relief portraying the Last Supper remained walled in to protect it from wanton destruction. In December 1945, a survey was undertaken, which later became an important basis for the reconstruction process. In the following year, numerous small angel heads on the altar structure were broken off and stolen.
Some of the recovered figures of the Nosseni altar were stored in rooms of the Dresden Palace and the Kreuzkirche. Other parts and other objects from the Sophienkirche ended up in various churches in Dresden, such as the crucifixion group in the parish room of the Trinitatiskirche and the communion relief in the Thomaskirche.
In 1963, the Sophienkirche underwent demolition. Dedicated preservationists carefully disassembled the Nosseni altar into its constituent elements and placed them in the cellar of the Ständehaus. Due to inadequate storage conditions, this action inadvertently contributed to additional deterioration and loss of parts. Efforts to relocate the altar to the Matthäuskirche in Dresden's Friedrichstadt proved unsuccessful due to the lack of height of the church space. Subsequently, in 1979, the preserved figural parts of the Nosseni altar were included in the central monument list of the GDR.
Restoration and reconstruction (1998–2002)
On April 1, 1993, the Loschwitz parish formally requested permission from the regional church office to transfer the Nosseni altar to the Loschwitz church. This baroque church, built in 1705–1708 by Johann Christian Fehre and George Bähr, underwent reconstruction from 1991 to 1994 after its extensive damage during the bombing of Dresden in 1945. However, the restoration of the original baroque pulpit altar was not feasible. Given the suitable spatial conditions within the Loschwitz church for accommodating the Nosseni altar, preliminary discussions concerning its restoration and reconstruction commenced in 1996. During this period, the altar, crafted from alabaster, marble, and sandstone, was dispersed across multiple locations in Dresden, consisting of over 350 individual components.Annette Dubbers (Hrsg.): Loschwitz. Eigenverlag, Dresden 2003, pp. 18. The declared goal was to incorporate all preserved parts into the restored altar. Various potential approaches were considered, including anastilosis and the incorporation of "old" components into a contemporary altarpiece design.Heinrich Magirius: Der Nosseni-Altar aus der Sophienkirche in Dresden. Verlag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Leipzig 2004, pp. 7–8.
After deciding on a largely original reconstruction using all of the approximately 350 surviving figurative parts and fragments, the works began in 1998. Static problems made it necessary to reinforce the altar structure with a steel framework inside before ornaments and figures could be installed. The sculptor's workshop of Christian Schulze and the art molding workshop of Manfred Zehrfeld crafted the missing parts of the altar in a form true to the original. However, the restoration of sculptural details utilizing diverse colored marble and green serpentine presented challenges, resulting in the use of stucco marble for these elements. This stucco marble was adjusted in color and texture to harmonize with the original components. This approach allowed the altar's aesthetic coherence to be preserved, with any distinctions between the original and the additions only becoming evident upon close examination.Heinrich Magirius in: Otto-R. Wenzel: Die Loschwitzer Kirche – Bau, Zerstörung und Wiederaufbau. In: Ev.-Luth.-Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz (Hrsg.): 300 Jahre Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz. Festschrift. Ev.-Luth. Kirchgemeinde Dresden-Loschwitz, Dresden 2004, pp. 39–40. Furthermore, if the material itself had caused the additions, it would have led to unavoidable loss of the original material because uneven fractures would need to be smoothed to connect the reconstructed parts. The figures and capitals that were damaged, initially crafted from alabaster sourced from the southern Harz region, were supplemented with tinted white alabaster from Italy. This choice ensured that distinctions between the preserved and newly created sections remained visible, maintaining historical authenticity throughout the restoration process.
On October 6, 2002, a solemn consecration ceremony marked the unveiling of the approximately eleven-meter-high Nosseni altar within the Loschwitz church.
Descriptio The Renaissance altar is characterized by its three-tiered structure, comprising a lower, middle, and upper section. This architectural arrangement was a prevailing motif among sculptors of the Electorate of Saxony during the early 17th century.Fritz Löffler: Das alte Dresden – Geschichte seiner Bauten. Seemann, Leipzig 1981, pp. 36.
Lower altar structure
The lower superstructure with four postaments above the altar table has biblical passages in gold letters on black marble. The outer left postament reads: Matth. 26. "Christ says: Nemet, esset, das ist mein Leib, der für Euch gegebent wird. Do this in remembrance of me." While on the inner left postament, the following Bible verse is quoted: Matth. 26. "Drink of it, all of you, this is my blood of the new testament which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins," the inner right postament shows the Bible verse: Cor. 11. "Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup." The outer right postament quotes the saying: Cor. 11. "Whosoever eateth and trifitteth unworthily eateth and drinketh judgment to himself."Alle Sprüche nach Cornelius Gurlitt: Beschreibende Darstellung der älteren Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Königreichs Sachsen. Band 21: Stadt Dresden, Teil 1. In Commission bei C. C. Meinhold & Söhne, Dresden 1900, pp. 93–95
Between the inner postaments is an alabaster relief as a predella, which shows the Last Supper scene: "John bows before Christ, while the apostles appear lively and moved in conversation. The painterly perspective is reminiscent of works by Giovanni da Bologna," according to art historian Cornelius Gurlitt.Cornelius Gurlitt: Beschreibende Darstellung der älteren Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Königreichs Sachsen. Band 21: Stadt Dresden, Teil 1. In Commission bei C. C. Meinhold & Söhne, Dresden 1900, pp. 94. Heinrich Magirius interpreted the second disciple from the left at the communion table as the theologian Polycarp Leyser, as well as the men carrying wine jugs on the left edge as the sculptor Walther.Heinrich Magirius: Der Nosseni-Altar aus der Sophienkirche in Dresden. Verlag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Leipzig 2004, pp. 17.
Central altar structure
The central part of the altar is characterized by four Corinthian columns with cranked entablature, which stand on the pedestals of the lower superstructure.Cornelius Gurlitt: Beschreibende Darstellung der älteren Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Königreichs Sachsen. Band 21: Stadt Dresden, Teil 1. In Commission bei C. C. Meinhold & Söhne, Dresden 1900, pp. 93. Between the inner columns in the central field of the altar, the crucifixion scene is depicted on the main floor in an incisive arch, the upper curve of which extends into the frieze zone. Below the cross with the figure of Christ is a statue of John 85 cmCornelius Gurlitt: Beschreibende Darstellung der älteren Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Königreichs Sachsen. Band 21: Stadt Dresden, Teil 1. In Commission bei C. C. Meinhold & Söhne, Dresden 1900, pp. 95. high on the right and one of Mary of the same height on the left.
Above the figures are Bible verses in gold letters. Above the figure of Mary is written: 1 Cor. 2. "I did not think that I knew anything among you except Jesus Christ the crucified", while above the figure of John the following Bible verse can be read: Galat. 6 "Far be it from me to be crucified, but far be it from the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."