Full title | The Crucifixion |
---|---|
Artist | Master of the Aachen Altarpiece |
Artist dates | active late 15th to early 16th century |
Group | The Crucifixion Altarpiece |
Date made | about 1490-5 |
Medium and support | Oil on oak |
Dimensions | 107.3 x 120.3 cm |
Acquisition credit | Presented by Edward Shipperdson, 1847 |
Inventory number | NG1049 |
Location | Room 62 |
Art route(s) | A |
Collection | Main Collection |
This is the central panel of a triptych (a painting in three parts) that was made for the church of St Columba, Cologne. Its two side panels – or shutters – are in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
A small group mourns the crucified Christ: the Virgin Mary, his mother, stands at the foot of the Cross with three distraught holy women, opposite a red-eyed Saint John the Evangelist. Christ has been nailed to the Cross, while the two thieves crucified alongside him have been tied up with rope. The contorted poses of their bodies suggest the agony of the torture they are enduring, while Christ’s body is serene in death.
Among the crowd on the left, Christ is shown before the Crucifixion, collapsing under the weight of his cross as he carries it to the site of his execution. The upper right of the panel shows his body being removed from the Cross.
This is the central panel of a triptych (a painting in three parts) that was made for the church of St Columba, Cologne. Its two side panels – or shutters – are in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
A small group mourns the crucified Christ: the Virgin Mary, his mother, stands at the foot of the Cross with three distraught holy women, opposite a red-eyed Saint John the Evangelist. Christ has been nailed to the Cross, while the two thieves crucified alongside him have been tied up with rope. The contorted poses of their bodies suggest the agony of the torture they are enduring, while Christ’s body is serene in death.
The legs of the thieves have wounds above the knees, but Christ’s do not. This is probably an allusion to the Gospel of John: ‘But when [the Roman soldiers] came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs’ (John 19: 33). Instead, the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. John makes it clear that Christ’s bones were not broken so that he could be identified with the Jewish Passover lamb which, like Christ, was sacrificed to atone for sin. The Old Testament books of Exodus and Numbers instruct that the Passover lamb’s legs should not be broken.
The background is filled with Roman soldiers on horseback. Among the crowd on the left Christ is shown before the Crucifixion, collapsing under the weight of his cross as he carries it to the site of his execution. The upper right of the panel shows his dead body being removed from the Cross.
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The Crucifixion Altarpiece
This altarpiece was commissioned by the family of Hermann Rinck, who was burgomaster (or mayor) of Cologne three times in the 1480s, after his death in around 1496. It stood on the altar of their family chapel in the church of Saint Columba in the city.
The altarpiece is in the form of a triptych (a painting made up of three panels). Its two side panels – or shutters – are in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. The altarpiece was dismantled and the panels separated some time between 1810 and 1820. The central panel, which is in the National Gallery’s collection, shows Christ’s crucifixion. The shutters show the episodes leading up to the Crucifixion and those that followed it.
When the altarpiece was cleaned in 1963, overpaint on the reverse of the shutters was removed, revealing paintings of Rinck and his wife with three of their sons.
This altarpiece was commissioned by the family of Hermann Rinck, who was burgomaster (or mayor) of Cologne three times in the 1480s. Rinck had died by 1496 – the painting was commissioned in his memory and in the belief that it would speed up the journey of his soul to heaven. The artist remains anonymous; he is named after this painting. The altarpiece is in the form of a triptych (a painting made up of three panels). Its two side panels – or shutters – are in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. The altarpiece was dismantled and the panels separated some time between 1810 and 1820.
The central panel, which is in the National Gallery’s collection, shows the Crucifixion, while the shutters depict the episodes leading up to the Crucifixion and those that followed it. The left-hand panel shows two events: Christ’s trial under Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Jerusalem, and his torture before his crucifixion. Known as the Flagellation, Christ was tied to a pillar and brutally whipped from all sides. The right-hand panel shows a scene known as the Lamentation, when the Virgin, her companions and Saint John the Evangelist mourned over Christ’s dead body. In the background – in the hills above the main scene – is the culmination of the story for Christians: Christ’s bodily resurrection from the tomb and triumph over death.
When the altarpiece was cleaned in 1963, paintings were discovered on the reverse of the shutters. They had been painted over, probably when the panels were exported from Germany in the nineteenth century. They show Rinck and his wife Gertrud Von Dallem (identified by their coats of arms) with three of their sons in prayer before the miraculous Mass of Saint Gregory the Great. The legend tells how Gregory had prayed to convince a monk that Christ’s body and blood were truly present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. As he celebrated Mass at the altar, Christ miraculously stepped out of the image on the altar and into the chalice with the wine.

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