Meeting a church’s demand is no easy exercise for the artist: He shall not ignore the long pictorial tradition adorning religious edifices’ walls. He has yet to find his place among the numerous - famous or not - predecessors who punctuate the ways of sacred art, and to offer his own language.
Beyond questions of style, religious work does not offer itself up to the gaze of others like secular painting. We do not look for the same foods in a church than those dispensed by museums.
There is another expectation than the art connoisseur’s one, purely aesthetic. The believer wants to find transcendence in the icon, or at least a quality of silence peculiar to meditation.
The creation of Illhaeusern's altarpiece has been an intimidating and exciting adventure. This work, ordered by St Pierre and Paul’s parish on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the church reconstruction, adorns the altar under the nave’s stained glasses influence.
Altarpiece was dedicated on 18th May, 2008. It can be seen everyday.
