Nosseni Altar

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.

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.

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.

[4] Efforts to relocate the altar to the Matthäuskirche in Dresden's Friedrichstadt proved unsuccessful due to the lack of height of the church space.

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.

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.

Static problems made it necessary to reinforce the altar structure with a steel framework inside before ornaments and figures could be installed.

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.

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.

"Christ says: Nemet, esset, das ist mein Leib, der für Euch gegebent wird.

"[11] 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.

[13] The central part of the altar is characterized by four Corinthian columns with cranked entablature, which stand on the pedestals of the lower superstructure.

[14] 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.

The superstructure is crowned by a Baroque ornamental gable, whose tympanum is adorned with a biblical verse from Romans 4:25: "Christ is given for our sins, and raised for our riches.

While smaller ornaments might have been the work of workshop assistants,[20] the more substantial artistic components of the altar are attributed to contemporary sculptors.

Bruck identifies a distinct reference to Paolo Veronese's Guest Supper in the House of Levi and therefore assigns the relief to an Italian artist.

[20] Heinrich Magirius identifies stylistic similarities between the Last Supper relief and the Cranach epitaph in Wittenberg, which is signed S. W. F. and attributed to Sebastian Walther.

[21] In the figure of Christ on the globe, Robert Bruck believes to recognize Zacharias Hegewald's style and manner based on the resemblances to the Ecce homo depiction on the Nosseni epitaph.

The small figure of Death leaning against the globe features the artist's signature C W F. This indicates an authorship by Christoph Walther IV.

[24][25] Cornelius Gurlitt highlighted the Italian style of the altar, showing the clear influence of the schools of Jacopo Sansovino or Giovanni da Bologna in the figure's structure.

"[26] The volute transitions between the main and upper floors were adapted to "Nordic taste," while the overall construction and figural work remained rooted in Italian traditions.

[27] Although the expression is not an outstandingly deepened one, the altar testifies to a beauty of form that already distinguished Nosseni in the design of the Freiberg princely tomb.

[15] Heinrich Magirius summarized the altar's art-historical and stylistic significance in 2004, observing:[28] "From an art historical point of view, the altar bears witness to the continued dominance of Italian culture at the Dresden court since the mid-16th century, in this case clearly of Venetian provenance, but at the same time its assimilation of domestic traditions."