The Crucifixion of Christ, the so-called Schottenkreuzigung

Identification of wood species: limewood (Tilia sp.)

Examined in 1980

The x-radiograph shows that the panel is constructed of three planks and that the joins are covered on the painted side of the panel with a fibrous material. This has led to localised unevenness in the paint layer, which has resulted in increased abrasion of the raised areas [1] - in the X-radiograph this is particularly evident in the area to the right of Christ's cross. Wedge shaped wooden inserts are visible in the upper left and lower right hand corners. They probably date to the restoration carried out in 1934 and have a ground or fill containing lead white.

Streaky brushstrokes can be observed in some areas, which probably result from the lead white content of an imprimatura e.g. in the foreground or in the torso of the thief on the right hand side.

Vertical, dark bands are visible in the right hand plank that may be plane marks.

The use of reserves (for the two crosses on the left and the clouds) and the slight gaps between adjoining areas of paint are clearly visible in the sky and along the contours of Christ and the thief to the left.The contours of the lance to the left of Christ were incised into the sky paint.

Prominent brushstrokes in the areas where an initial light paint layer for flesh paint or other light colour was applied indicate that the artist only conformed vaguely to the intended forms. Like in the underpainting of the faces, described above, this is also visible in the right hand of the thief on the left as well as in the white horse

In addition to the above mentioned abrasion and small losses in the areas where the fibrous material was applied, there are further tiny paint losses in the dark folds of the red robes. The right foot of the thief on the right hand side is rather damaged, exhibiting numerous tiny losses. Three of the largest losses to the right of the Crucified Christ are filled with a material containing lead white.

[1] This fibrous material can become visible on the surface when it is present in areas that have been thinly painted, particularly if the animal skin glue applied as an adhesive has been caused to swell [Most 2009, 89].

[see 31.03.2010 (Monika Strolz) Technical Examination]

[Translation, Smith, cda 2014]

- the panel consists of three vertical boards of varying and slightly oblique widths (board I: t.: 9.9/b: 7.3, board II: t: 17/b: 19.3, board III: 18.2/b: 19.1

- with butt joints, reinforced on the painted side with a fibrous material

- on the reverse of the panel, the original surface has not been preserved

- the panel was thinned, mounted on a secondary panel consisting of four component parts and cradled

- pale ground (probably calcium carbonate bound in glue, no analysis carried out)

- there is a thin, lead white imprimitur [1], which is occasionally visible as a slight streakiness beneath certain areas of paint eg. the torso of the thief on the right (see X-radiography)

[1] [Heydenreich 1998, 196] [Heydenreich 2007 A, 97]

Carried out in a fluid medium with a brush or possibly feather. The underdrawing is visible with the naked eye in areas where the paint application is thin or where it has become more transparent over time.

Infrared reflectography shows that in the underdrawing Cranach sketched in all the figures and forms. Between the preparatory drawing and the final painted version no significant alterations were made to the composition. The drawing has a free and sketchy character. It can be presumed that Cranach applied the fluid medium to a large extent with a brush (for example in the area of the trees). Some of the lines change direction so abruptly that it is plausible that a feather may have been employed (Eg. the man on the left hand side in the foreground looking up at the cross)[1]. It seems to be a design created by Cranach, which he used as a base and as preparation for the painting process. In the period around 1500 Cranach did not yet run his own workshop and was not attached to such an infrastructure in Vienna as an employee [2]. As was already observed by Ingo Sandner, the identified underdrawing from the period before Wittenberg (1504) is sketchy and to be viewed as a preparatory design [3].

Pentimenti

A significant correction for the composition of the painting is visible in the change in the perspective of the horizontal member of the good thief's cross. In the group of men on horseback some corrections were made to the horses' legs: the fore-leg of the white horse, which is barely visible and whose rider wears a red cloak, was originally further to the left. There is no underdrawing beneath the present painted position just as is the case with the only visible hind-leg. It appears as if the artist had problems arranging all the horses and riders in this small area. The castle in the distance was changed slightly: the original drawing of a round tower was changed to a crenelated square one [4], and it appears as if originally more vegetation was planned.

Christ's loincloth is not included in the underdrawing and was not intended to be so extensive as -according to the underdrawing- the tree to the right of the cross should have risen up higher. Christ is depicted as a naked figure, while the clothes of the thieves are meticulously drawn. It is not to be assumed that Cranach wished to break so radically with conventions and depict Christ without a loincloth, but apparently it was first conceived in the painted version. This is remarkable considering it is the central motif of the crucifixion; and it is executed in a rather unusual manner (without knots or convolutions).

[1] We came to this conclusion after a comparing the underdrawing with that of the sitting angels in Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Lucas Cranach the Elder 1504, Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Gemäldegalerie; identified by both I. Sandner [Sandner 1998, 54, Fig. 7.2] and A. Siejek [Siejek 2004, 82, Fig. 40] as having been executed with a feather.

[2] [Heydenreich 1998, 572] [Heiser 2002, 89]

3] [Sandner 1998, 83]

[4] [Bierende 2002, 7] : The author suggests that the Salzburg Trompeterschloss is depicted here as in the Schedel'schen Weltchronik. The underdrawing does not support this theory.

The painted area measures 57 x 44.5 cm. The unpainted edge (varying in width) of the painting and a barbe created by the ground are visible on all sides with the exception of the right hand side, where they are only partially preserved. The unpainted edges and the barbe do not run parallel to the edge of the panel presumably because the painted area was originally at a slight angle to the panel and the panel was later cropped slightly (probable when it was mounted and cradled). This would have been when the barbe and unpainted edge were partially removed from the upper right hand edge. Along the edges,above all left and right there are remains of an early (original?) black coating (see also IRR image). The edge of the painting was later reworked (retouched).

Various areas of the painting present a wide spectrum of different methods of paint application and thickness. In some areas the paint has been applied in a number of layers. Sometimes the final layer is impasto with a localized underpainting as with the trees and drapery, whereas in other areas the paint was applied thinly and distributed with a brush, partially wet-in-wet, as with the landscape in the fore- and background and the clouds. In many areas the slightly toned ground or imprimatura was incorporated into the final image e.g. the part of the tree trunk without bark (central cross).

In many areas there is local underpainting, generally brown or grey tones e.g. the Virgin's robe. The blue paint layer (presumably azurite with the addition of lead white to model the folds) is above a brown underlayer, which has been partially left unpainted along the folds. The foreground has an initial warm brown layer, while the trees on the horizon are dark grey and the horses are partially underpainted with light grey.

A great variety of approaches can be observed in the application of paint in red areas. Cranach employed different paint layer combinations to achieve a variety of hues and shades. In the red garments of the figures around the Virgin the red paint is applied over a lighter layer containing lead white. In other areas the red paint appears to lie directly over the ground, as in the red arm of the Virgin or the garment of the woman behind her. The areas of shadow in the draperies are achieved with a red lake glaze and appear to have an initial black layer and/or to be modulated with black paint in the darkest areas. Other red areas, such as the cover of the brown horse have a continuous black underlayer, followed by a red paint layer with white highlights.

Cranach executed the flesh paint employing an initial localized light paint layer. This layer was frequently applied on a larger area beyond the exact outline of a face, as is clearly visible in the X-radiograph, e.g. in the figure of St. John where the free brushstrokes feather out above his forehead. Heydenreich describes the differentiation between faces -often within one painting- with the aid of varying painting techniques [1]. Variation in the deployment of lead white and brushwork can be observed in the Crucifixion. The highlights in the faces of the women appear to be softer and flatter in their modulation, whereas in the male faces they are more prominent, with visible brushstrokes and appear to have been applied with a pointed brush.

Depending on the desired shade and hue the flesh paint is modelled with either brown or reddish glazes, that of the women is general kept in a cooler tonality and accordingly contains more lead white. Brown glazes were employed for the male faces apart from the central figurative group. The facial form was achieved with single brushstrokes, not blended, for the highlights. In some of the faces blue pigments were added to the paint to indicate beards.

The richness of detail in the figures is remarkable despite their small scale. The women's tears are painted with a very fine paintbrush as a gentle blue stream. The oppressively realistic depiction of the crucified Christ's lips is also in blue paint. The traces of blood on Christ's body were applied to the dry flesh paint whereas the bluish wound is painted wet-in-wet. The blue pigment employed is relatively coarsely ground and irregular in size. Isolated green pigment particles are also present. To depict the metallic shine of the nails highlights in blue paint were employed. Powdered gold was employed for the saints' haloes and the decoration of the robes and tack.

The foliage was initially painted with a greenish or brown base tone. A more detailed formation of the leaves and branches followed -partially wet-in-wet - in numerous layers of various green tones and yellowish-green or ochre impasto highlights, which was completed with a now brown glaze [2]. In some areas, like on the right hand side, this lower layer has in its consistency the character of a medium rich glaze and appears to have been spread out with a feathery hairbrush.

The figures were laid in at an early stage of the painting process. While the figurative groups to the left and right of the central cross are overlapped by the foreground paint (with the exception of e.g. the Virgin's blue robe), some areas of the foreground have also been left uncovered, leaving the brown underpaint visible, e.g. between the front hooves of the horse on the right.

The crucified figures also appear to have been laid in at an early stage, before the sky was painted. Their contours are partially cropped by the sky paint and partially lie side by side without actually bordering on each other. The sky seems to have been painted after the figures. However the crucified figures, the crosses and the large cloud formation were held in reserve, which is clearly visible in the X-radiograph. Here the observation made after infrared examination regarding Christ's loincloth is confirmed. It was not held in reserve as it acquired its shape during the painting process. The crosses were painted during a later stage.

The clouds are essentially held in reserve in the blue sky paint with only a very thin light and dark scumble employed over the light ground, partially blended wet-in-wet, to modulate their structure. Only a few wisps of cloud are applied without reserve directly over the painted sky. Only the sides of the panel with the inscription INRI were indicated. The letters were applied directly on top of the clouds.

Painted areas are juxtaposed in such a way that frequently tiny gaps occur between them where the only slightly covered ground or imprimatura has remained visible. This can be seen with the naked eye but is more clearly evident in the X-radiograph. There are however tiny overlapping painted areas where the artist painted beyond an area which had been held in reserve or where a detail was added later.

Most of the pentimenti occur where the painted version deviates from the underdrawing, as was already described in the evaluation of the infrared reflectogram. The perspective was altered to the left of the cross and numerous alterations were made to the horses' legs. Corrections within the painting process are hardly present. One exception is where the shaft of the good thief's cross was widened. The process is interesting here: Cranach applied a dark stroke beneath the light paint employed to correct the width. This appears unusual in such a light relatively transparent area and was possible carried out to cover the impasto paint application of the foliage (see infrared reflectograph and X-radiograph).

[1] 'Cranach differentiated faces within a painting by different pigment combinations, varying layer sequences and changing brushwork'. [Heydenreich 2007 A, 195]

[2] Some of the areas ,which appear brown today may originally have been green. Verdigris, an allkaline copper acetate, which has been frequently identified in Cranach paintings [Heydenreich 2007 A, 148] can turn brown with age.

[Translation, Smith, cda 2014]

Carried out in a fluid medium with a brush or possibly feather. The underdrawing is visible with the naked eye in areas where the paint application is thin or where it has become more transparent over time.

Infrared reflectography shows that in the underdrawing Cranach sketched in all the figures and forms. Between the preparatory drawing and the final painted version no significant alterations were made to the composition. The drawing has a free and sketchy character. It can be presumed that Cranach applied the fluid medium to a large extent with a brush (for example in the area of the trees). Some of the lines change direction so abruptly that it is plausible that a feather may have been employed (Eg. the man on the left hand side in the foreground looking up at the cross)[1]. It seems to be a design created by Cranach, which he used as a base and as preparation for the painting process. In the period around 1500 Cranach did not yet run his own workshop and was not attached to such an infrastructure in Vienna as an employee [2]. As was already observed by Ingo Sandner, the identified underdrawing from the period before Wittenberg (1504) is sketchy and to be viewed as a preparatory design [3].

Pentimenti

A significant correction for the composition of the painting is visible in the change in the perspective of the horizontal member of the good thief's cross. In the group of men on horseback some corrections were made to the horses' legs: the fore-leg of the white horse, which is barely visible and whose rider wears a red cloak, was originally further to the left. There is no underdrawing beneath the present painted position just as is the case with the only visible hind-leg. It appears as if the artist had problems arranging all the horses and riders in this small area. The castle in the distance was changed slightly: the original drawing of a round tower was changed to a crenelated square one [4], and it appears as if originally more vegetation was planned.

Christ's loincloth is not included in the underdrawing and was not intended to be so extensive as -according to the underdrawing- the tree to the right of the cross should have risen up higher. Christ is depicted as a naked figure, while the clothes of the thieves are meticulously drawn. It is not to be assumed that Cranach wished to break so radically with conventions and depict Christ without a loincloth, but apparently it was first conceived in the painted version. This is remarkable considering it is the central motif of the crucifixion; and it is executed in a rather unusual manner (without knots or convolutions).

[1] We came to this conclusion after a comparing the underdrawing with that of the sitting angels in Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Lucas Cranach the Elder 1504, Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Gemäldegalerie; identified by both I. Sandner [Sandner 1998, 54, Fig. 7.2] and A. Siejek [Siejek 2004, 82, Fig. 40] as having been executed with a feather.

[2] [Heydenreich 1998, 572] [Heiser 2002, 89]

3] [Sandner 1998, 83]

[4] [Bierende 2002, 7] : The author suggests that the Salzburg Trompeterschloss is depicted here as in the Schedel'schen Weltchronik. The underdrawing does not support this theory.

[Translation, Smith, cda 2013]

Support:

An old black and white photograph of the front of the painting from 1918 (framed) shows that both joins in the panel were clearly visible. The join between planks I and II was slightly open in the area of the good thief and there were small losses in the paint layer in this area. In the lower left hand corner there are tiny losses, possibly along a split. It is impossible to tell from this photograph whether or not the reverse of the panel has already been treated. The present cradling dates to 1934 and was carried out in the restoration studio after the painting was purchased. The condition of the painting before this intervention is very scantily documented. Some splits in the panel are mentioned. It is possible that the panel had already been thinned and mounted on an auxiliary support at this stage: an x-radiograph from 1934 shows the painting before it was cradled. However joins are visible along the lower edge, which correspond to the width of the planks of the auxiliary support. Either way, the entry from 1934 in the restoration files only mentions the cradle, but not the auxiliary support . The c. 10 cm long wedge shaped wooden inserts in the upper left and the lower right corners were probably carried out during this campaign. Despite the complicated structure of its support the panel is in a relatively stable condition. A number of small, older hairline cracks are visible along the top and bottom edge of the panel and there is some inactive woodworm present along the top right edge.

Paint Layers:

The paint layers are overall in a stable condition, but exhibit tenting in the darker areas of shadow in the red garments. In this area there are numerous tiny, old losses e.g. the garment of the central horse rider with the red cloak or the robes of St John and Mary Magdalene.

In the area where fibrous material was applied to the panel the paint layers are abraded and there are tiny losses, particularly in the sky either side of the right hand join. A very defined craquelure can be observed here too.

There are three larger losses to the right of Christ's cross. In the rest of the painted area there are isolated small, but old losses and some lead white fill used for wormholes. Numerous tiny losses amount to a rather large area of damage in the right foot of the left thief.

In addition to the relatively deep abrasion in the sky to the right of Christ there is minimal paint surface abrasion in many areas e.g. the wounds and blood stains of the crucified figures or the tree to the left.

Examination under the stereomicroscope revealed that many of the glazes have suffered from abrasion e.g. in the faces. On the whole the contours have lost a degree of sharpness due to the abrasion.

Old photographs show that there are numerous whitish retouches in the sky (which have been toned in).

Varnish:

The natural resin varnish has yellowed and become slightly greyish. Above all in the sky there are disturbing patches. In the coat of the horse rider to the right there is a circular area in which the varnish appears to be less dull/cloudy. There is a glossy drip on the soldier's dark horse.

Examination under UV light showed that the circular area in the coat of the rider on the right appeared to be darker than the surrounding area. The varnish layer appears to have been thinned here during a cleaning test.

[Translation, Smith, cda 2013]

The entry in the restoration files from 1934 describes briefly the condition of the painting, the presence of splits is mentioned as is the fact that the painting has already been cleaned and is partially abraded. The treatment carried out consisted of gluing the splits, applying a cradle to the reverse, cleaning, filling, retouching and varnishing.

[Monika Strolz, 2010]

[Source: Restoration files, volume 1, entry no. 915]

'Restoration Studio [...] Mr. Restorer Isepp cleaned and restored the newly acquired Cranach.'

[Source: Gal. Akt Z.1/1936, Annual Report, 5]

[Translation, Smith, cda 2013]