This stained glass image, one of five in the upper level of the south cloister, depicts Christ prepared for burial. Simon of Cyrene and Joseph of Arimathia along with two female figures are depicted behind the body of Christ. They wear the yellow pointed hat of medieval Jews. A nun in a white habit kneels in prayer before the figure in the bottom of the panel, in the traditional position of the patron.
Wienhausen
These stained glass windows date from the fourteenth century. The diamond shaped windows, such as this one, were located along the upper level cloister in the south wing, above matching pointed windows, each with stained glass tops and presumably with wooden shutters below. The windows were taken to the glass workshop of Henning & Andres in Hannover in 1894 for restauration and reconstruction and returned to the cloister with the advice of Conrad Wilhelm Hase. This removal and rennovation effort, however, makes it impossible to know if the windows were returned to their original context and order within the cloister. In their current order, they run from west to east: the entrance of Christ in Jerusalem, the last supper, the crucifixion, Christ prepared for burial, Christ in Hell, the Resurrection, Christ and Mary in the garden, and the apostles Peter and Paul. This narrative flow, however, is broken by two glass panels with apostles and three with figures of saintly abbots, among them Benedict of Nursia and Bernard of Clairvaux.
Effigy of Christ from Wienhausen; other windows in the upper cloister; other ima; Wienhausen, Effigy of ChristWienhausen, Arisen Christ (stained glass)Wienhausen, Christ's entry to JerusalemWienhausen, Christ crucified surrounded by the virtuesWienhausen, Christ prepared for burial (devotional image)Wienhausen, Nuns' choir detail of Christ prepared for burial
Ulf-Dietrich Korn ascribes these windows to at least three different workshops. Lay patrons donated the money for these windows, as reflected in the convent's necrology. This glass panel of Christ prepared for burial, however, is isolated by Korn for its relative lack of skill compared to many of the other windows. Concluding that this panel is certainly no master work, Korn even suggests that it might be the work of a dilettante nun interested in stained glass, who then portrayed herself at the bottom of the glass. See Kloster Wienhausen: Die Glasmalereien,40.
Wienhausen
Abbess Renate von Randow; Wolfgang Brandis
