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Christ on the cross
Maker
(artist)
1475-1564
1475-1564
Title
Christ on the cross
Date of Production
(circa) 1555 - 1562
Medium
black chalk on laid paper, with faint traces of red chalk and white bodycolour and traces of a dark brown ink framing line mostly trimmed away
Dimensions
Height: 30 cm
Width: 18.7 cm
Width: 18.7 cm
Accession Number
D.1978.PG.426
Mode of Acquisition
HM Government (Acceptance in Lieu), allocation, 1978
Credit
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 1981.
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
This master drawing is part of an extraordinary series of works in which the almost ninety-year old Michelangelo meditates on the crucified Christ whose sufferings are visualised in the intensely worked figure. Rather than being vigorously and firmly delineated, the contours of the body are made of light, overlapping strokes and frequently changed as if the body was eroding and the artist’s hand trembling. The drawing technique thus conveys the frailty of the crucified Christ and provides us with an intimate expression of Michelangelo’s immersion in his Passion during the process of drawing.
Provenance
presumably a French collection, late 18th or early 19th century (based on inscription); a 'Stuttgart jeweler', given on consignment to Hans M. Calmann, 1938 (see Tonkovich 2021 - the jeweler apparently wanted £250 but could not achieve that); Dr Alfred Scharf, London (1900-1965); purchased from him via A.J. Ehrenfeld by Count Antoine Seilern (1901-1978), 13 March 1940 (£1,500); Princes Gate Bequest 1978 (Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 1981)
Exhibition History
Michelangelo: The Last Decades, British Museum, London, 02/05/2024-28/07/2024
Special Display - Looking at Michelangelo, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 11/02/2010-06/06/2010
Mantegna to Cezanne - Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 24/02/1983-19/06/1983 ...More
The Princes Gate Collection - Drawings (Selection B), The Courtauld Gallery, London, 29/01/1982-25/07/1982
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 ...Less
Special Display - Looking at Michelangelo, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 11/02/2010-06/06/2010
Mantegna to Cezanne - Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 24/02/1983-19/06/1983 ...More
The Princes Gate Collection - Drawings (Selection B), The Courtauld Gallery, London, 29/01/1982-25/07/1982
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 ...Less
Literature
Vowles, Sarah, Grant Lewis, and British Museum. Michelangelo : The Last Decades. London: British Museum, 2024.
no. 162 on p. 215
referenced on pages 209, 215-216.
Tonkovich, Jennifer, 'Hans Calmann and the American Market for Old Master Drawings, 1937-73' in 'Master Drawings', Spring 2021 - pp. 49-72; LIX, I
p. 51
fig. 4
Rovetta, Alessandro, L'ultimo Michelangelo: disegni e rime attorno alla Pietà Rondanini, Silvana 2011
no. 2.2 on pp. 117-18
ill. on p. 119
dated c. 1562 ...More
Zöllner, Frank, Christof Thoenes and Thomas Pöpper, Michelangelo 1475-1564: Das vollständige Werk, Cologne 2007
p. 617
fig. 231
Frapiselli, Luciana, 'I "pentimenti" di Michelangelo' in 'L'Osservatore Romano', 30 Sept. 1993
p. ?
photocopy does not have p. number
Perrig, Alexander, Michelangelo's drawings: the science of attribution, New Haven 1991
p. 97
as authentic
Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
cat. no. 29
ill. on p. 37
The Princes Gate Collection - Drawings (Selection B), The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1982
cat. no. 172
Linda Murray, Michelangelo, London: Thames and Hudson, 1980.
pp. 197-200, 211
fig. 156 on p. 197
Charles de Tolnay, Michelangelo e i Medici, exh. cat., Florence, Casa Buonarroti, 1980.
p. 92
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. 179
Hartt, Frederick, Michelangelo drawings, New York and London 1970/71; repr. 1975
no. 430
accepted as by Michelangelo
de Tolnay, Charles, Corpus dei disegni di Michelangelo, Novara 1975-80
vol. III, p. 12, no. 420
Haussherr, Reiner, 'Michelangelos Kruzifixus für Vittoria Colonna: Bemerkungen zu Ikonographie und theologischer Deutung' in 'Wissenschaftliche Abhandlungen der Rheinisch-Westfälischen Akademie der Wissenschaften', Opladen 1971; 44
p. 51
ill.
Berenson, Bernard, I disegni dei pittori fiorentini, Milan 1961; 3 vols.
vol. I, p. 342; vol. II, no. 1543B
Dussler, Luitpold, Die Zeichnungen des Michelangelo: kritischer Katalog, Berlin 1959
p. 117, no. 185
fig. 143
according to letter from Haussherr; accepted as by Michelangelo according to Hartt
Parker, K.T., Catalogue of the collection of drawings in the Ashmolean Museum. vol. 2 Italian school, Oxford 1956
p. 180
Wilde, Johannes, Italian drawings in the Department of Prints and Drawings: Michelangelo and his studio, London 1953
p. 120
accepted as by Michelangelo; added to PRA task list
Popham, A.E. and Johannes Wilde, The Italian drawings of the XV and XVI centuries in the collection of His Majesty The King at Windsor Castle, London 1949
p. 260 under no. 437
de Tolnay, Charles, History and technique of old master drawings: a handbook, New York 1943
p. 48 and no. 90 on p. 119
ill.
dated c. 1555-56
de Tolnay, Charles, Michelangelo, Princeton 1943-60; 5 vols.
vol. 5, no. 257
accepted as by Michelangelo
Wittkower, R., 'A newly discovered drawing by Michelangelo' in 'The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs', May 1941 - pp. 159-61; 78, 458
pp. 159-61
ill.
dated c. 1555 ...Less
no. 162 on p. 215
referenced on pages 209, 215-216.
Tonkovich, Jennifer, 'Hans Calmann and the American Market for Old Master Drawings, 1937-73' in 'Master Drawings', Spring 2021 - pp. 49-72; LIX, I
p. 51
fig. 4
Rovetta, Alessandro, L'ultimo Michelangelo: disegni e rime attorno alla Pietà Rondanini, Silvana 2011
no. 2.2 on pp. 117-18
ill. on p. 119
dated c. 1562 ...More
Zöllner, Frank, Christof Thoenes and Thomas Pöpper, Michelangelo 1475-1564: Das vollständige Werk, Cologne 2007
p. 617
fig. 231
Frapiselli, Luciana, 'I "pentimenti" di Michelangelo' in 'L'Osservatore Romano', 30 Sept. 1993
p. ?
photocopy does not have p. number
Perrig, Alexander, Michelangelo's drawings: the science of attribution, New Haven 1991
p. 97
as authentic
Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
cat. no. 29
ill. on p. 37
The Princes Gate Collection - Drawings (Selection B), The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1982
cat. no. 172
Linda Murray, Michelangelo, London: Thames and Hudson, 1980.
pp. 197-200, 211
fig. 156 on p. 197
Charles de Tolnay, Michelangelo e i Medici, exh. cat., Florence, Casa Buonarroti, 1980.
p. 92
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. 179
Hartt, Frederick, Michelangelo drawings, New York and London 1970/71; repr. 1975
no. 430
accepted as by Michelangelo
de Tolnay, Charles, Corpus dei disegni di Michelangelo, Novara 1975-80
vol. III, p. 12, no. 420
Haussherr, Reiner, 'Michelangelos Kruzifixus für Vittoria Colonna: Bemerkungen zu Ikonographie und theologischer Deutung' in 'Wissenschaftliche Abhandlungen der Rheinisch-Westfälischen Akademie der Wissenschaften', Opladen 1971; 44
p. 51
ill.
Berenson, Bernard, I disegni dei pittori fiorentini, Milan 1961; 3 vols.
vol. I, p. 342; vol. II, no. 1543B
Dussler, Luitpold, Die Zeichnungen des Michelangelo: kritischer Katalog, Berlin 1959
p. 117, no. 185
fig. 143
according to letter from Haussherr; accepted as by Michelangelo according to Hartt
Parker, K.T., Catalogue of the collection of drawings in the Ashmolean Museum. vol. 2 Italian school, Oxford 1956
p. 180
Wilde, Johannes, Italian drawings in the Department of Prints and Drawings: Michelangelo and his studio, London 1953
p. 120
accepted as by Michelangelo; added to PRA task list
Popham, A.E. and Johannes Wilde, The Italian drawings of the XV and XVI centuries in the collection of His Majesty The King at Windsor Castle, London 1949
p. 260 under no. 437
de Tolnay, Charles, History and technique of old master drawings: a handbook, New York 1943
p. 48 and no. 90 on p. 119
ill.
dated c. 1555-56
de Tolnay, Charles, Michelangelo, Princeton 1943-60; 5 vols.
vol. 5, no. 257
accepted as by Michelangelo
Wittkower, R., 'A newly discovered drawing by Michelangelo' in 'The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs', May 1941 - pp. 159-61; 78, 458
pp. 159-61
ill.
dated c. 1555 ...Less
Inscriptions
Watermark: possibly upper centre across figure's chest, but paper quality too poor to discern.
Inscription: Recto: lower left corner, brown ink, late18th/early 19th c. hand: “Michel ange.”. Verso: lower right, graphite: “S” and below that, circled “3”.
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower left corner, brown ink, late18th/early 19th c. hand: “Michel ange.”. Verso: lower right, graphite: “S” and below that, circled “3”.
Collector's mark: none.
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