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“Ah, you are surely my Raffael”-‘Micael Triegel’, Religious Painter of 21st Century?

Jea-Won Kim 1

1인천가톨릭대학교

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ABSTRACT

Michael Triegel was born between a professor of mechanical engineering as his father and a expert of science and technology as his mother in former East Germany, Erfurt. Before his graduation of high School(Gymnasium) he showed his talent in painting. In 1990 he enters the HGB(Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst) in Leipzig and became a pupil of Arno Rink(1940- ). He belongs to the so called grandson-generation of great East German Painter, the first Generation of Leipziger Schule, Werner Tübke(1927-2004). Michael Triegel and Werner Tübke experienced each other different ideological, social and political circumstances, but they were common in the way that their arts originated from the Renaissance and the Mannerism. There existed no more East Germany (DDR) when Triegel began his study in the HGB. He was free from the state where socialism was to be enchanted, and christianism and capitalism to be denied. It means that he belongs to a new generation of Leipziger Schule because he has taken a painter-training in the ideological vacuum of eastern part of Germany. His distinctive power of observation and exuberant figuring capability drew a great attention from the college time. He was giving a strong impression through his early works, for example, “tabula combinatoria” that expressed Christ without body in the figuration of resurrection, and “Abendmahl (the last supper)” in which eyes, mouth, nose of Christ were omitted. Until now he has produced various genres of paintings, reaching to not only portraiture, still life, landscapes, but also mythological and religious pictures. But it seems that he has shown strong interest in the works of religion. Unlike the other painters of Leipziger Schule, he did not need to confront the twisted modern history of Germany and his own painful experience of it. As he himself said,he tried to research and reinterprets the Christianity that “has essentially formed their lives through almost 2000 years.” In his endeavor to discover a new meaning of Christianity he has turned his attention to relations between him and Christianity, and further relations between human beings and Christianity. Through his religious works of till today he has showed his own subjective explanation of what the core principles of Christianity -sacrifice, death, resurrection, salvation are. His religious themes mainly have two fields. One is criticism an catholic church, and the other is reinterpretation of biblical contents. In this paper these two themes are separately discussed through respectively selected three works of him. If we see his religious works, in details, we come across his true interest. Free from ideological constraints he started his works from painstaking searching of what he is. Great were his passion and nostalgia for the origins (Greek and Roman mythology or Christianity) which are inherent in him, but inherited from outside of German culture. Triegel had a strong desire for freedom to comfort his agony, conflict and belief. As a result he reached to a deep understanding of human beings and a human-centered thoughts. He thought that human beings must be placed in the centre of earth as well as heaven concerning the reinterpretation of the bible. In order to express his thoughts he took a way of painting experimental and curious figures of Christianity. He would probably protest against peculiarities of religion that could not be explained by rationalities and logics. It can be said that he would strongly be against God-centered thoughts of new Platonic mysticism. Triegel would have tried to reflect self-centered religious beliefs of 21st century’s human beings who necessarily represent positivism and are deeply indulged in self-love. It’s very remarkable that the Catholic church gave Triegel, a human-centered religious artist, a chance to paint a portrait of the Pope Benedict XVI and let him have an interview with the Pope personally. When the Pope Benedict XVI saw his several drawings of himself, he said to Triegel, “Ah, you are surely my Raffael”. The Pope’s response would show his great expectation of Triegel’s work. With this remarks he would also look forward to seeing Triegel’s another view of Christianity. The Catholic church would probably like to make sure its willingness for reconciliation and communication through Triegel’s mission. It would be anticipated that this occasion would be just a beginning of new relationships between the Catholic church and arts.

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