CHRIST CRUCIFIED
The artist depicts Christ Crucified as a young man immediately after the throes of death on the cross. His head with the Crown of Thorns hangs heavily on his right shoulder. Clotted strands of hair frame his bearded face. His mouth is slightly open; his tongue pressing outwards – an indication that he has just died. Christ is nailed to the cross in three places – through both of his hands and through his feet that are arranged one over the other. The muscular, slim and seemingly elegant body is captured with considerable anatomical accuracy. The loincloth, tied around Christ’s hips, winds around the sides in artistic, almost Mannerist-like loops.
TILMAN RIEMENSCHNEIDER attributed to Heiligenstadt 1460 –1531 Würzburg Early 16th century Fruit wood Height: 24 cm Provenance: Collection of Professor Wilhelm von Miller (Munich 1848 –1899); Acquired in 1907 by Julius Böhler from von Miller’s estate; Thence by descent.
As the figure is relatively small, it was made for private devotional use and would have been placed on a house altar.
Related Literature: Soder von Güldenstubbe, Erik and Widlich, Ariane. Tilman Riemenschneider und sein Erbe im Taubertal, Gerchsheim 2004, pp. 67 ff.
The figure is attributed to Tilman Riemenschneider. Stylistically, it is similar to a depiction of Christ in the crucifixion group in the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt (fig. 1) – made in Riemenschneider’s own hand and workshop.
Chapuis, Julien. Tilman Riemenschneider, Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages, exh. cat., New Haven 1999, pp. 290 ff.
11
Christ’s face, the Crown of Thorns, his body and the loincloth are modelled in the same way on this work, as are the lance wound and the inserted nipples. On comparison, the face and hair of our figure of Christ are arguably slightly less finely carved.
78
