National Gallery of Art :: The Collection :: The Crucifixion
  • Overview
  • Inscription
  • Provenance
  • Exhibition History
  • Bibliography

Overview

The anonymous master who painted this work was the leading painter in Cologne shortly after 1400. His name derives from his finest work, Saint Veronica with the Sudarium, preserved in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich. In this Crucifixion the attenuated boneless figures, the sinuous contours of the drapery folds, and the delicate colors set off against the gold ground are all hallmarks of the International Gothic style. The subject is Christ's suffering and death on the cross and the grief of the weeping Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist; yet, the sorrow of the event is softened by the figures' gentle expressions. Even the tiny angels who catch the blood flowing from Christ's wounds add a decorative and fanciful touch.

The painting was probably used as a focus for prayers and meditation by a Carthusian monk, since a member of that monastic order is shown kneeling at the right of the cross. The painting's small size would make it suitable for such use, probably in the monk's cell.

Cologne was the largest and most densely populated city in Germany at the end of the Middle Ages. It supported a wealthy middle class and many religious institutions, including the Charterhouse of Saint Barbara, for which this Crucifixion may have been painted.

Inscription

at top of cross: I.N.R.I.; in Mary's halo: (possibly) salv [illegible] m[?]ar[?]ia:m[?]a; in Christ's halo: [illegible]; in John's halo: :s:Joha[illegible]:evia[illegible]

Marks and Labels

null

Provenance

Possibly the Carthusian monastery of Saint Barbara, Cologne.[1] Richard von Schnitzler [1855-1938], Cologne, by 1917 until at least 1931.[2] (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, owned with Pinakos, Inc. [Rudolf Heinemann]), by 1953;[3] purchased 1954 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1961 to NGA.

[1] Although unverified it is possible, as Eisler first suggested, that The Crucifixion was originally located in the Charterhouse of Saint Barbara in Cologne, the city where the Master of Saint Veronica was active as well as the birthplace of Saint Bruno, founder of the Carthusian Order. The Charterhouse in Cologne was a large and important institution that underwent a major building campaign between 1391 and 1405. (see J.J. Merlo, "Kunst und Kunsthandwerk im Karthäuserkloster zu Köln", Annalen des historischen Vereins für den Niederrhein insbesondere die alte Erzdiöcese Köln, 45 (1886): 1-2. See also Paul Clemen, Ludwig Arntz, Hugo Rahtgens, Heinrich Neu, and Hans Vogts, Die Kunstdenkmäler der Stadt Köln, vol. 2, part 3 (Düsseldorf, 1934), 137-162, and Otto Braunsberger, "Die Kölner Kartause. Erinnerungen aus alter Zeit," Stimmen der Zeit. Katholische Monatschrift für das Geistesleben der Gegenwart, 94 (1918): 134-152. If the Gallery's panel were in the Charterhouse, it might have remained there until 1794 when the monastery was dispersed.) Given the Order's emphasis on solitary contemplation and devotion, it would seem likely that the Gallery's panel adorned the cell of a single monk. It is possible that it was originally part of a commission for multiple images, as was the case with the Crucifixions painted by Jean de Beaumetz and his shop for the Charterhouse at Champmol. (Noted by Colin Eisler, Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian. (Oxford, 1977), 1.

[2] Walter Bombe, "Die Sammlung Dr. Richard von Schnitzler in Cöln." Der Cicerone 9 (1917): 366. Published in Otto Helmut Förster, Die Sammlung Dr. Richard von Schnitzler, Munich, 1931: 21, no. 1, pl. 1. Unless sold by Schnitzler between 1931 and his death in 1938, the painting was inherited by his two daughters, Edith and Eriak von Schröder.

[3] M. Knoedler & Co. account book, where a pencilled notation suggests that the panel was previously owned by a Dr. Howard in partnership with Mont and Newhouse.

Exhibition History

1922
Alte Malerei aus kölnischem Privatbeitz, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, 1922, no. 60, as by Follower of Meister Wilhelm.
1961
Der Meister des Bartholomäus-Altares, der Meister des Aachener Altares. Kölner Maler der Spätgotik, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne, 1961, unnumbered, unpaginated catalogue insert.
2011
Glanz und Grösse des Mittelalters - Kölner Meisterwerke aus den grossen Sammlungen der Welt, Museum Schnütgen, Cologne, 2011- 2012, no. 202, repro.

Bibliography

1907
Vollmer, Hans, ed. "Wynrich (Winrich), Hermann, Maler von Wesel." In Thieme-Becker 37 vols. 1907-1950. Leipzig, 1947: 36:333 and 1950: 37:344.
1917
Bombe, Walter. "Die Sammlung Dr. Richard von Schnitzler in Cöln." Der Cicerone 9 (1917): 366, repro. 362.
1920
Lüthgen, Eugen. Die abendländische Kunst des 15. Jahrhunderts. Bonn and Leipzig, 1920: 55-57, pl. 29.
1921
Lüthgen, Eugen. Rheinische Kunst des Mittelalters aus kölner Privatbesitz. Bonn and Leipzig, 1921: 97, pl. 63.
1922
Förster, Otto Helmut. "Köln." Der Cicerone 14 (1922): 984.
1923
Förster, Otto Helmut. Die Kölnische Malerei. Von Meister Wilhelm bis Stephan Lochner. Cologne, 1923: 41, frontispiece.
1931
Förster, Otto Helmut. Die Sammlung Dr. Richard von Schnitzler. Munich, 1931: 21, no. 1, pl. 1.
1934
Stange, Alfred. Deutsche Malerei der Gotik. 11 vols. Berlin and Munich, 1934-1961. Berlin, 1938: 3:58, fig. 63.
1935
Schweitzer, Klaus-Heinrich. Der Veronikameister und sein Kreis. Studien zur kölnischen Kunst um 1400. Würzburg, 1935: 70-71.
1950
Pieper, Paul. "Die `Notgottes' in Landesmuseum Münster." Westfalen 28 (1950): 190-191.
1956
Frankfurter, Alfred. "Crystal Anniversary in the Capital." Art News 55 (March 1956): 35.
1956
Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Colllection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56. Introduction by John Walker, text by William E. Suida and Fern Rusk Shapley. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1956: 126, no. 48, repro.
1957
Förster, Otto Helmut. "Um den Meister der Veronika." Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 19 (1957): 245.
1959
Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 298, repro.
1960
Broadley Hugh T. German Painting in the National Gallery of Art (Booklet no. 9 in Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC). Washington, 1960: 2, 14-15, color repro.
1961
Seymour, Charles. Art Treasures for America: An Anthology of Paintings & Sculpture in the Samuel H. Kress Collection. London, 1961: 18, 218, fig. 15.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 304, repro.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 87
1965
Oldemeyer, Gertrude. "Die Darstellung des gekreuzigten Christus in der Kunst des `Weichen Stils'." Ph.D. diss., Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg in Breisgau. Aachen, 1965: 252.
1967
Stange, Alfred. Kritisches Verzeichnis der deutschen Tafelbilder vor Dürer. 3 vols. Munich, 1967: 1:24, no. 35.
1968
European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1968: 76, repro.
1968
Pieper, Paul. "Veronika--Meister der hl. Veronika." Festschrift für Gert von der Osten. Cologne, 1968: 95.
1974
Wallrath, Rolf, ed. Vor Stefan Lochner: Die Kölner Maler von 1300 bis 1430. Exh. cat. Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne, 1974: 38-39, 84-85, 87, repro. 38.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 226, repro. 227.
1977
Eisler, Colin. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian. Oxford, 1977: 1-2, fig. 1.
1978
Zehnder, Frank Gütner. "Der kleine Kalvarienberg." In Die Parler und der schöne Stil 1350-1400. Exh. cat. Kunsthalle, Cologne, 1978: 210.
1981
Zehnder, Frank Günter. "Der Meister der Hl. Veronika." Ph.D. diss., Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn. Sankt Augustin, 1981: 86-95, (Katalog) 52, (Katalog) 54-56, no. 8, pls. 49-51, 53.
1984
"Meister der heiligen Veronika." In Lexikon der Kunst. 5 vols. Berlin, 1984: 3:251.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: no. 149, repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 259, repro.
1986
Budde, Rainer. Köln und seine Maler 1300-1500. Cologne, 1986: 42, 209, no. 23, fig. 27.
1986
Pieper, Paul. Die deutschen, niederländischen und italienischen Tafelbilder bis um 1530. (Bestandskatalogue, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Münster, edited by Klaus Bussmann.) Münster, 1986: 405.
1992
National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 57, repro.
1993
Hand, John Oliver, with the assistance of Sally E. Mansfield. German Paintings of the Fifteenth through Seventeenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1993: 141-145, color repro. 143.
2000
Corley, Brigitte. Painting and Patronage in Cologne, 1300-1500.) Turnhout, 2000: 80, 93, 96, 98, 108, fig. 48, 50.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 62-63, no. 47, color repro.
2012
Kemperdick, Stephan. "From Master Wilhelm to Master Wilhelm: The Identity of the Cologne Master of St Veronica." The Burlington Magazine 154 (February 2012): 89, 90, color fig. 2.

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