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Christ on the cross

Maker

Follower of
(artist)
1475-1564

Title

Christ on the cross

Date of Production

1500 - 1599

Medium

black and traces of red chalk on laid paper, laid down, the sheet covered in a varnish which has browned and is exhibiting extensive cracks; raised oval patch at upper centre, also evident on the backing sheet (William Clarke suggested this was a cartouche that was once adhered to the backing sheet)

Dimensions

Height: 42.6 cm
Width: 30.1 cm

Accession Number

D.1978.PG.423

Mode of Acquisition

Count Antoine Seilern, bequest, 1978

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

The shiny surface of this large Crucifixion indicates that the drawing was varnished. Such treatment and the high degree of finish suggest that it was a complete work, intended as a personal devotional image. The composition is closely related to Michelangelo’s Crucifixion drawing (British Museum), executed around 1540 for the artist’s close friend Vittoria Colonna, renowned for her deep religiosity. The awkward rendering of Christ’s anatomy, particularly the imperfect rotation of the torso and execution of the limbs, argues against an attribution to Michelangelo.

Provenance

The following provenance given in the 1964 Sotheby's catalogue, and supplemented with information from 1895,0915.509 and 1895,0915.510 at the BM, part of the group with the same provenance, as well as consultation with archival sales catalogues online: Casa Buonarroti; acquired there by Jean Baptiste Joseph Wicar (1762-1834); Sir Thomas Lawrence, London (1769-1830); William II, King of the Netherlands (1792-1849); his estate sale, de Vries, Roos, Brondgeest (The Hague), 8 December 1850, drawings lot 152; purchased there by Samuel Woodburn (London); his estate sale, Christie's (London), 4 June 1860, lot 114 (listed as coming from 'The Collections of M. Buonaroti, and the Chev. Vicar'); purchased there by Ensom (identity currently unknown); R.M. Smith; his estate sale, Sotheby's (London), 1 December 1964, lot 121; purchased there via Colnaghi (London) by Count Antoine Seilern, London (1901-1978) (£150); Princes Gate Bequest 1978

Exhibition History

Special Display - Looking at Michelangelo, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 11/02/2010-06/06/2010

Drawings by Michelangelo in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, the Ashmolean Museum, the British Museum and other English collections, British Museum, London, 06/02/1975-27/04/1975

One hundred original drawings by Michelangelo, collected by Sir T. Lawrence, The Lawrence Gallery, 1836 (July)

Literature

Joannides, Paul, ‘El Greco and Michelangelo’ in 'El Greco of Crete: proceedings of the International Symposium held on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the artist’s birth, Iraklion, Crete, 1-5 September 1990', Municipality of Iraklion 1995
p. 205
fig. 7 on p. 203

Drawings by Michelangelo in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, the Ashmolean Museum, the British Museum and other English collections, British Museum, London, 1975
cat. no. 116

de Tolnay, Charles, Corpus dei disegni di Michelangelo, Novara 1975-80
vol. III, p. 66, no. 410
ill.

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: unable to check due to thickness of backing sheet and varnish and extensive cracking across the paper surface.

Inscription: Recto: within the drawing, atop the cross, black chalk: “IN.RI”. Verso (backing sheet): lower right edge, graphite, Colnaghi number: “D27929”.

Collector's mark: none.

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