John the Evangelist blessing the poisoned Chalice
Wilhelm Stetter·1519
Historical Context
Wilhelm Stetter's John the Evangelist Blessing the Poisoned Chalice, painted in 1519 and now at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, depicts a legendary episode from the life of the apostle John: when he was handed a cup of poison by his persecutors, he blessed it and the poison departed in the form of a serpent. This miracle established the chalice as John's primary attribute in Christian iconography. The Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, famous for the Isenheim Altarpiece by Grünewald, also holds important works from the Upper Rhine region, where Stetter was active in the tradition of Alsatian painting during the High Renaissance period.
Technical Analysis
The chalice with the departing serpent is the iconographic focus of the composition, prominently displayed in the apostle's hands. Stetter's Upper Rhine training produces a style that combines German linear expressiveness with some awareness of the more refined Italian-influenced painting of nearby Basel and Strasbourg.
