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Christ as the Man of Sorrows
about 1470
Medium/Technique
Oil on panel
Dimensions
69.2 x 39.4 cm (27 1/4 x 15 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift in memory of W. G. Russell Allen by his Friends
Accession Number56.262
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
This painting embodies the entirety of Jesus's suffering in a single, solemn image. He holds his head in his hands, the universal gesture of sorrow, and sits among the instruments used to torture and kill him. Such emotionally charged imagery was particularly common in Germany during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. In an act of devotion, private contemplation of these subjects allowed viewers to identify with Jesus's anguish.
Provenance1946, in Amsterdam [see note 1]. By 1953, Alfred Weinberger (dealer), Paris [see note 2]; 1954, sold by Weinberger to F. Kleinberger Galleries, New York (stock no. MC 1265) [see note 3]; 1956, sold by Kleinberger to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 12, 1956)
NOTES:
[1] This picture was examined by Max Friedländer in Amsterdam on May 17, 1946, according to photo-documentation from the Kleinberger files at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In whose possession it was at this time is not known. On the reverse of the panel is an export stamp from Amsterdam, as well as similar stamps from Munich and Paris. [2] This is according to a statement of January 14, 1955 by Hanns Swarzenski of the MFA that he first saw the panel in Weinberger's possession in Paris in October 1953. Swarzenski notes that Weinberger was a dealer in Paris who was a relative of Harry G. Sperling of Kleinberger. [3] Kleinberger Galleries Records, Watson Library Digital Collections, Metropolitan Museum of Art, stock card MC 1265.
NOTES:
[1] This picture was examined by Max Friedländer in Amsterdam on May 17, 1946, according to photo-documentation from the Kleinberger files at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In whose possession it was at this time is not known. On the reverse of the panel is an export stamp from Amsterdam, as well as similar stamps from Munich and Paris. [2] This is according to a statement of January 14, 1955 by Hanns Swarzenski of the MFA that he first saw the panel in Weinberger's possession in Paris in October 1953. Swarzenski notes that Weinberger was a dealer in Paris who was a relative of Harry G. Sperling of Kleinberger. [3] Kleinberger Galleries Records, Watson Library Digital Collections, Metropolitan Museum of Art, stock card MC 1265.