Christ carrying the Cross

Christ carrying the Cross

Title

Christ carrying the Cross

[Cat. Schwäbisch Hall 2009, 64]

Painting on pine

Medium

Painting on pine

[Cat. Schwäbisch Hall 2009, 64]

The cross is made from untreated logs, one of which has had the bark removed from the front side. The legend is well known that when St Veronica saw Christ carrying the cross she took pity on him and wiped his face with her veil and its image was impressed

The cross is made from untreated logs, one of which has had the bark removed from the front side. The legend is well known that when St Veronica saw Christ carrying the cross she took pity on him and wiped his face with her veil and its image was impressed on the cloth as Vera Icon (true image). [...] Whereas the heads of the henchmen touch on caricatures, because ugliness is equated with the force of evil, the faces of the men on horseback remain comparatively detached. The wonderful old head of Simon of Cyrene stands out in the composition. One of the henchmen kicks Christ to get him to rise. The grieving friends, St John and the Mother of God are not readily visible in the image, nor are the two bare-headed thieves at the right edge. The soldier who kicks Christ bends his head so far down that only his nose is visible beneath the cropped rim of his hat.

[Löcher, in Cat. Schwäbisch Hall 2009, 64]

Attributions
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Hans Kemmer (in Cranach the Elder's workshop)

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

['Werkstatt Lucas Cranach d. Ä. (Hans Kemmer)', Heydenreich 2021 B, 67] [Cat. Schwäbisch Hall 2009, 64]

Hans Kemmer (in Cranach the Elder's workshop)

['Werkstatt Lucas Cranach d. Ä. (Hans Kemmer)', Heydenreich 2021 B, 67]

Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop

(probably assisted by Hans Kemmer) [Exhib. Cat. Lübeck 2021, no. 20]

Production dates
about 1520
after 1537

Production dates

about 1520

[dated]

after 1537

[Feurstein, in Cat. Donaueschingen 1934, 15-16]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 69 x 54.2 cm, cropped

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 69 x 54.2 cm, cropped

  • [Cat. Donaueschingen 1990, 176]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia and date at the centre on the cross: winged serpent with elevated wings and dated '1520'.

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia and date at the centre on the cross: winged serpent with elevated wings and dated '1520'.

  • The discrepancy between the date and the first appearance of this type of insignia in 1537 suggests that it is not genuine.

  • [cda 2015]

Owner
Sammlung Würth
Repository
Sammlung Würth
Location
Schwäbisch Hall
CDA ID
DE_SWK_6544
FR (1978) Nr.
FR096B
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SWK_6544/

Provenance

  • about 1838 acquired by Major Fischer in Karlsruhe
    [Cat. Donaueschingen 1990, 176]
  • acquired by the Würth collection in 2003
    [Cat. Schwäbisch Hall 2009, 6]

Exhibitions

Erfurt 1903, no. 28
Schwäbisch Hall 2004, no. 5
Lübeck 2021, no. 20

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Lübeck 2021 196, 197 020 Fig. p. 197
EditorDagmar Täube
TitleLucas Cranach der Ältere und Hans Kemmer. Meistermaler zwischen Renaissance und Reformation [Lübeck, St. Annen-Museum]
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2021
Show Literature
Heydenreich 2021 B 60-63, 69 Fig. 7
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich
TitleHans Kemmer: Spuren künstlerischer Gestaltungsprozesse. Teil II: Wittenberg
Publicationin Dagmar Täube, ed., Lucas Cranach der Ältere und Hans Kemmer. Meistermaler zwischen Renaissance und Reformation [Lübeck, St. Annen-Museum]
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2021
Pages59-69
Show Literature
Cat. Schwäbisch Hall 2009 64 5 p. 65
EditorC. Sylvia Weber
TitleAlte Meister in der Sammlung Würth. Der ehemals Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Bilderschatz
Place of PublicationSchwäbisch Hall
Issue2nd revised edition
Year of Publication2009
Show Literature
Klein 1994 B 210
AuthorPeter Klein
TitleHolzartenbestimmung und dendrochronologische Analyse an Gemäldetafeln von Lucas Cranach d.Ä. und seiner Werkstatt
PublicationAllmuth Schuttwolf, ed., Gotteswort und Menschenbild. Werke von Cranach und seinen Zeitgenossen, Exhib. Cat. Gotha
Place of PublicationGotha
Year of Publication1994
Pages210-219
Show Literature
Cat. Donaueschingen 1990 176 38 p. 177
AuthorClaus Grimm, Bernd Konrad
TitleDie Fürstenberg Sammlungen Donaueschingen. Altdeutsche und schweizerische Malerei des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication1990
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 96 B
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Cat. Donaueschingen 1934 15-16
EditorHeinrich Feuerstein
TitleFürstlich Fürstenbergische Sammlungen zu Donaueschingen. Verzeichnis der Gemälde
Place of PublicationDonaueschingen
Issue4th edition
Year of Publication1934
Link https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/feurstein1934/0001/image,info
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 under no. 85
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1932
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932
Show Literature
Cat. Donaueschingen 1921 15-16
AuthorHeinrich Feurstein
TitleFürstlich Fürstenbergische Sammlungen zu Donaueschingen. Verzeichnis der Gemälde
Place of PublicationDonaueschingen
Issue3rd edition
Year of Publication1921
Show Literature
Cat. Donaueschingen 1909 41-42
AuthorGeorg Tumbült
TitleFürstlich Fürstenbergische Sammlungen zu Donaueschingen. Verzeichnis der Gemälde
Place of PublicationStuttgart
Issue2nd edition
Year of Publication1909
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Erfurt 1903 5 028
EditorOskar Doering
TitleKatalog der kunstgeschichtlichen Ausstellung zu Erfurt, September 1903
Place of PublicationMagdeburg
Year of Publication1903
Link https://archive.org/details/katalogderkunstg00ange/page/n1/mode/2up
Show Literature
Cat. Donaueschingen 1870 47
AuthorAlfred Woltmann
TitleFürstlich Fürstenbergische Sammlungen zu Donaueschingen. Verzeichniss der Gemälde
Place of PublicationKarlsruhe
Year of Publication1870
Link https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101067654341&view=1up&seq=3
Show Literature
  • Christ carrying the Cross, about 1520

Images

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Documents

Technical studies

06. 2015Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- black fluid medium (soot ink?) and a brush

Type/Ductus:

- detailed and freehand underdrawing

- thin to broader

-occasional hatching-strokes

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe the essential details and the facial features; occasional representation of volume with hatching-strokes

Deviations:

- minor alterations made during the painting process to clearly define form; small changes (e.g. in the background cross omitted in the painted version)

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2016]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

1990Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography

Underdrawing

- distinct brush drawing visible beneath all parts of the image, exhibiting bold, short, hooked lines that emphasize the anatomy. The style and execution are similar to works from 1510-1515 like the 'Mocking of Christ' from about 1515 (Weimar, Kunstsammlungen)

[Cat. Donaueschingen 1990, 176]

1988Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Identification of wood species: Pinus sylvestris

- two planks with narrow annual rings. No comparative curves available.

[Cat. Donaueschingen 1990, 176]

  • examined by Peter Klein

Condition Reports

Date1990

  • damaged along the left edge

  • split in the area near the hill of Calvary

  • some retouching

  • former cradle removed and the panel attached to another panel

[Cat. Donaueschingen 1990, 176]

Conservation History

Date1860

conservation treatment carried out by Eggart.

[Cat. Donaueschingen 1990, 176]

Date1838

conservation treatment carried out by Mattenheimer.

[Cat. Donaueschingen 1990, 176]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Christ carrying the Cross', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SWK_6544/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Christ carrying the Cross', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SWK_6544/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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