Sabina

An excerpt in 18 chapters:
83 photographs in 18 chapters,
various formats,
archival pigment prints,
2021
/
Narration as audio guide,
18 stations,
total length 62 min,
Narrator: Lena Franzen,
sound: Roman Strack,
2021
/
In April 2023, the complete project was published as a book in 25 chapters by Textem Verlag, Hamburg.

1 Berlin, Alte Nationalgalerie
About a visit to the museum

1 Berlin, Alte Nationalgalerie
About a visit to the museum

1.2
Sabina von Steinbach, Frieze by Otto Geyer, 1870—75 (detail),
stairwell of the Alte Nationalgalerie

1.2
Sabina von Steinbach, Frieze by Otto Geyer, 1870—75 (detail),
stairwell of the Alte Nationalgalerie

2 Strasbourg, Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame
About reproductions, copies and originals

2 Strasbourg, Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame
About reproductions, copies and originals

2.2
Photo tarpaulin. South transept portal of Strasbourg Cathedral,
July 17, 2018.

2.2
Photo tarpaulin. South transept portal of Strasbourg Cathedral,
July 17, 2018.

4 Karlsruhe, Kunsthalle
Wherein, among other things, it becomes apparent that an artist also copies himself sometimes

4 Karlsruhe, Kunsthalle
Wherein, among other things, it becomes apparent that an artist also copies himself sometimes

4.1
Sabina von Steinbach. Fresco by Moritz von Schwind, 1843,
first floor stairwell.

4.1
Sabina von Steinbach. Fresco by Moritz von Schwind, 1843,
first floor stairwell.

5 Mainz, Municipal Scientific Library
Wherein a long novella is studied repeatedly and in great detail

5 Mainz, Municipal Scientific Library
Wherein a long novella is studied repeatedly and in great detail

5.3
Novella Erwin von Steinbach by Georg Christian Braun.
Mainz, 1834, page 36 – 37

5.3
Novella Erwin von Steinbach by Georg Christian Braun.
Mainz, 1834, page 36 – 37

5.3
Novella Erwin von Steinbach by Georg Christian Braun.
Mainz, 1834, page 185

5.3
Novella Erwin von Steinbach by Georg Christian Braun.
Mainz, 1834, page 185

6 Northern Vosges, Palatinate Forest
About hikes and castle ruins

6 Northern Vosges, Palatinate Forest
About hikes and castle ruins

6.1
View from Trifels Castle of the Anebos and Scharfenberg castle ruins.
Southern Wine Route, Rhineland-Palatinate.

6.1
View from Trifels Castle of the Anebos and Scharfenberg castle ruins.
Southern Wine Route, Rhineland-Palatinate.

7 Karlsruhe, Baden State Library, Reading Room Collection
Wherein it turns out that some reading can lead to great confusion

7 Karlsruhe, Baden State Library, Reading Room Collection
Wherein it turns out that some reading can lead to great confusion

7.2
Eduard Duller, Die Geschichte des deutschen Volkes von Eduard Duller. Mit hundert Holzschnitten nach Originalzeichnungen von Ludwig Richter und J. Kirchhoff.
(History of the German People: With one-hundred Woodcuts after Original Drawings by Ludwig Richter and J. Kirchhoff).
Leipzig: G. Wigand, 1840, page 255 (detail)

7.2
Eduard Duller, Die Geschichte des deutschen Volkes von Eduard Duller. Mit hundert Holzschnitten nach Originalzeichnungen von Ludwig Richter und J. Kirchhoff.
(History of the German People: With one-hundred Woodcuts after Original Drawings by Ludwig Richter and J. Kirchhoff).
Leipzig: G. Wigand, 1840, page 255 (detail)

7.5
Alfred Woltmann, Streifzüge im Elsaß. VIII. Das Straßburger Münster,
(Strolls through Alsace. VIII. Strasbourg Cathedral).
Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst, Volume 9, 1874, page 329.

7.5
Alfred Woltmann, Streifzüge im Elsaß. VIII. Das Straßburger Münster,
(Strolls through Alsace. VIII. Strasbourg Cathedral).
Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst, Volume 9, 1874, page 329.

10 Heidelberg, University Library, Manuscript Reading Room
About a little four hundred year old book of great impact

10 Heidelberg, University Library, Manuscript Reading Room
About a little four hundred year old book of great impact

10.3
In Schadaeus: Isaac Brunn, Engraving No. 6:
South transept portal of Strasbourg Cathedral.

10.3
In Schadaeus: Isaac Brunn, Engraving No. 6:
South transept portal of Strasbourg Cathedral.

12 Strasbourg, Cathedral, South Transept Portal
Wherein a board fence is photographed and what lies behind it can be seen in another photographer’s shot

12 Strasbourg, Cathedral, South Transept Portal
Wherein a board fence is photographed and what lies behind it can be seen in another photographer’s shot

12.2
Construction fence at Strasbourg Cathedral’s south transept portal,
May 12, 2019.

12.2
Construction fence at Strasbourg Cathedral’s south transept portal,
May 12, 2019.

14 Mont Sainte-Odile, Hohenbourg Castle
Wherein a special water and several extraordinary women surface

14 Mont Sainte-Odile, Hohenbourg Castle
Wherein a special water and several extraordinary women surface

14.5
Frau mit Blau (Woman with Blue),
Süddeutsche Zeitung, January 15, 2019.

14.5
Frau mit Blau (Woman with Blue),
Süddeutsche Zeitung, January 15, 2019.

14.6
Mosaic by Herrad von Landsberg, Chapel of Tears,
Hohenbourg Castle.

14.6
Mosaic by Herrad von Landsberg, Chapel of Tears,
Hohenbourg Castle.

15 Berlin, W.’s study
Wherein two similar chapters in two different books are examined and a third one calls everything into question

 

15 Berlin, W.’s study
Wherein two similar chapters in two different books are examined and a third one calls everything into question

 

15.3
Susan Raven and Alison Weir, Women of Achievement,Thirty-five Centuries of History,
1981, London: Harmony Books. Page 213.

15.3
Susan Raven and Alison Weir, Women of Achievement,Thirty-five Centuries of History,
1981, London: Harmony Books. Page 213.

16 Bamberg, Cathedral Square
About the comparison of some medieval sculptures in different cities
and a growing uneasiness when looking at them

16 Bamberg, Cathedral Square
About the comparison of some medieval sculptures in different cities
and a growing uneasiness when looking at them

16.3
Synagoga (reproduction), Prince’s Portal, Bamberg Cathedral

16.3
Synagoga (reproduction), Prince’s Portal, Bamberg Cathedral

18 Berlin, Alte Nationalgalerie
Wherein, upon reading a dissertation, an altered date is revealed and another Sabina is discovered that had long been overlooked

18 Berlin, Alte Nationalgalerie
Wherein, upon reading a dissertation, an altered date is revealed and another Sabina is discovered that had long been overlooked

18.2
Frieze by Moritz Schulz (detail), Alte Nationalgalerie

18.2
Frieze by Moritz Schulz (detail), Alte Nationalgalerie

 
 
 
 
 

In the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) in Berlin, there is a frieze of figures in the stairwell dating from 1875. It gathers 121 people who were considered significant at the time for an intended German historiography. Among them are only four women, one is the medieval sculptress Sabina von Steinbach, who is said to have once worked on the Strasbourg Cathedral. However, this artist probably never existed. Why has she nevertheless become part of this canon, which remains unchanged to this day?
Starting from this question, the research began.