| Murals
| | In the Our Lady Monastery there is a large number of murals. They are from late Gothic times close to the Reniassance. Good and evil deeds were illustrated and man´s morals were the focus. |
The Mary-motif
There are not many Mary motifs in the murals in the monastery. The apocalyptic Madonna is portrayed in a medallion in the vault in the chapter hall, the Annunciation can be seen close to the entrance to the church and Mary with the halo is portrayed in a mural in the dining hall.
Annunciation | 
Reading Mary | 
Mary in Refulgence |
The Lazarus Hall
In the dining hall (The Lazarus Hall) you can see a picture of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. In a text band it says in Latin: ”Give me something to drink”. Another picture depicts how Jesus is tempted by the devil in the desert. Satan tries to lure Jesus into using his divinity to make bread out of stones.
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The Lazarus Frieze
The dining hall is situated in the north wing of the monastery and is also called the Lazarus hall. This is due to the frieze, which dominates the room and represents the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
The Rich Man and Lazarus | 
The Rich Man | 
Lazarus | 
The Rich Man Goes to Hell | 
Lazarus Goes to Heaven |
The Table Scene
The picture shows the rich man in the place of honour and presents as unusual insight into the customs around the year 1500. The shoes are the latest fashion at the time and the cut of the dress points toward Italian fashion in the period 1450-70. It has also been suggested that the artist may be Italian, perhaps a monastery friar, who has been summoned to carry out this job?
You also notice the details around the table manners of the time: The flat wooden plates, or perhaps slices of bread used as plates and the smaller loaves, which was used to spoon up the food. A knife could be used, but the fork hasn´t been invented yet.
The scene with the rich man has been interpreted differently. He is without a doubt a fashion devotee, but who is at his side? Two women, but is one of them his wife? That should be the one on the left and why is he holding the other one´s hand? There is no final answer to this, but there is a hint of carnal lust here. The somewhat primitive and perspective reproduction points toward the Renaissance.
Rich and Poor
The perspective reproduction can also be seen in the second picture in the frieze, where Lazarus is in agony outside the rich man´s door. A servant throws him crumbs from the rich man´s table, while another with his hand over his facet ries to hold off the stench from the open wounds.
In picture three the rich man´s death is depicted. The picture illustrates how difficult it is for him to get into heaven. He lies in his bed surrounded by friends, but also devils, who try to take possession of his soul.
The poor Lazarus in picture four on the other hand, is almost automatically granted access to Heaven.
The fifth and sixth picture in the series are like pictures three and four placed over each other, but are badly preserved. The probably depict the poor man resting in Abraham´s lap and below the rich man in Hell.
Interpretation
The frieze has also been interpreted as an eternal reminder to the Karmelite monks to be moderate, but also as a reminder of how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God. Perhaps it is only God´s absolution, which can save you. The Lazarus motif was well liked around the 16th century, when they stressed the inadequacy of deeds for salvation. The vault in the south nave of the church are decorated with an extensive collection of murals, which show scenes from the life of Jesus and they have probably been painted in connection with the rebuilding in the end of the 15th century.
In the Church
The vault in the south nave of the church are decorated with an extensive collection of murals, which show scenes from the life of Jesus and they have probably been painted in connection with the rebuilding in the end of the 15th century.
Hans Pothorst | 
Delff; a painter |
The Music Hall
The Garden of Eden is depicted in the so-called music hall, which is more like an emergency church, from where you could attend the service through a hole in the wall. The room is decorated from the floor to the ceiling like a paradisiacal bower with angels making music and grotesque figures around the leaves.
Harp Sound | 
Music Motif | 
Music Motif |
Grotesques
The nave also holds a number of characteristic masks as a part of the ornamentation of the church. These can be interpreted as profane everyday comments, which contrast the deeds of the pious Karmelites.
Grotesque Figures |
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