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/