'St Erasmus, Bishop of Antiochia (d. 303) was arrested and martyred on numerous occasions during the Diocletianic Persecution of the Christians. One of the torturous acts inflicted upon him consisted of winding his intestines around a winch. This martyrdom is seldom depicted more frequently the intestines wound on a winch
'St Erasmus, Bishop of Antiochia (d. 303) was arrested and martyred on numerous occasions during the Diocletianic Persecution of the Christians. One of the torturous acts inflicted upon him consisted of winding his intestines around a winch. This martyrdom is seldom depicted more frequently the intestines wound on a winch are shown beside the bishop as an attribute.
The artist depicts the terrible act as a technical problem and observes with the same sober view as those present, who - either on foot or on horseback - crowd in or look down from the balcony. In the sky Christ appears as the Man of Sorrows to take the soul of the blood witness, who lying outstretched on the bier accepts the end of his life as a follower of Christ with the composure of a saint.
The commissioner of the painting, Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, bestows honor upon the patron of his family the Hohenzollers of Brandenburg. In 1516 Albrecht had the remains of the saint transferred from Magdeburg to Halle to revive the cult of the saint; the panel may have been created for this reason. The coat-of-arms was added in 1518 or later - in 1518 Albrecht received the red hat - together with the insignia of a cardinal.'
[Exhib. Cat. Aschaffenburg 2007, 269, 270]
- Attributions
-
Heinrich Vogtherr
Anonymous Master from the Cranach Workshop
Attributions
Heinrich Vogtherr | [Exhib. Cat. Munich 2011, 142] |
Anonymous Master from the Cranach Workshop | 'In the catalogue from 1975 the painting was - also due to the provenance - classified under the group attributed to an 'Anonymous Master from the Cranach workshop', where it clearly does not belong.' |
Simon Franck | [Tacke 1992, 33, 41-169] |
- Production date
- 1516
Production date
1516 | [dated] |
- Dimensions
- Dimensions of support: 97.2 x 80.2 cm
Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 97.2 x 80.2 cm
[Exhib. Cat. Munich 2011, 142]
- Owner
- Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
- Repository
- Staatsgalerie im Schloss Johannisburg, Aschaffenburg
- Location
- Aschaffenburg
- CDA ID
- DE_BStGS_6275
- FR (1978) Nr.
- FRSup005
- Persistent Link
- https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_BStGS_6275/