Estonia Painting Postal Stationery

Estonia Postal Stationery
Name: The Year of Bernt Notke in Tallinn
Date of Issue: 04 June 2009

Bernt Notke (born c. 1435 in Lassan in Pomerania; died winter 1508/1509 in Lübeck) was the most important German painter and sculptor in Northern Europe in his times.

Most famous is his sculpture Sankt Göran och Draken for the Storkyrkan in Stockholms Gamla stan. An exact copy of this sculpture is at St. Cathrines Church in Lübeck. He is the creator of the world's largest Triumphant Cross, in Lübeck Cathedral. His Danse Macabre in St. Mary in Lübeck was destroyed in the course of an allied bomb raid.

Parts of his Danse Macabre for Reval are saved in St. Nicholas' Church, Tallinn. This painting depicts the transience of life, the skeletal figures of Death taking along the mighty as well as the feeble ones. Only the initial fragment of the original 30 metres (98.4 ft) wide painting (accomplished at the end of the 15th century) can be seen in the St Nicholas' Church

Comment: What a long "stamp" on this postcard, isn't it? This painting is saved in St. Nicholas' Church (Niguliste Museum), the nearest from museum is Viru Post Office. What a pity, the Viru Post Office's postmark only shows "Tallinn", and the small "g" represents the Viru Post Office.