The Protestant Church of Niedermodern and Its Altarpiece

The Protestant church of Niedermodern, recently renovated, embodies the values of openness in contemporary Protestantism, blending work, industry, and technology. Its interior, marked by metal beams supporting the lighting, houses a highly original contemporary altarpiece.

Created by German artist Reinhard Dassler at the request of patron Nikolaus von Gayling, this wooden triptych is inspired by the washing of the feet (Gospel of John 13), the central scene of the work. Painted in a figurative-realistic style, it updates this biblical episode by placing it in the third millennium while drawing inspiration from Renaissance representations.

Regional landscapes and portraits of local personalities, including the donor and parishioners, are subtly integrated. The altarpiece, gifted in December 2000, is the result of a collaboration between Dassler, pastors Wolfgang Gross and Martin Wehrung, and Baron von Gayling, whose ancestors once owned part of the village. The work, both eucharistic and diaconal, creates a dialogue between the Last Supper and the washing of the feet, with an explicit depiction of the breaking of the bread in the upper mandorla.