Crucifixion
Window
ca. 1525 (made)
ca. 1525 (made)
| Place of origin |
Researches carried out in the 1950s on the furnishings of the Abbey of Altenberg near Cologne have enabled us to identify this window as having come from the Lady Chapel (Mariankapelle) at the entrance to the former cloisters. These cloisters had been sold off in 1806 after the monastery was secularised and the furnishings lost or sold off to collectors and dealers. This was the fate of many monastic institutions in Continental Europe at the end of the 18th century and the early 19th century.
This window is said to have been paid for by an abbot of the monastery, Andreas Boelgen, and one of the monks, Peter von Mors. Boelgen was abbot between 1524 and 1536. Peter von Mors died in 1531. This would date the construction of the window to between 1524 and 1531.
The image of the crucified Christ is one of the most common subjects represented in Christian art. However, the first images of this subject don’t appear until several hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ. The reason for this probably lies in the fact that during the Roman Imperial period, only base criminals, and non-Roman citizens, were executed in this horrific manner. Early Christians were probably hesitant to call attention to the fact that their saviour, Jesus Christ, died as a common criminal.
Crucifixion was officially abolished in the early 4th century by the Christian Emperor Constantine. Within a century, the death of Christ on the Cross was widely depicted and became a symbol of Christ’s triumph over death and his sacrifice for mankind.
The imagery in this window is represented in a traditional manner. The central figure of Christ on the Cross is flanked by the standing figures of the Virgin Mary on his right and that of St John the Evangelist on his left. St Mary Magdalene clutches the base of the Cross. This type of devotional image of the crucified Christ was popular at the end of the Middle Ages. It could serve as a devotional image on its own or as part of the larger theme of the salvation of mankind which culminates with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
The simple three part image of Mary, Christ on the Cross and St John the Evangelist lends itself well to large window openings, popular at the end of the Middle Ages.
This window is said to have been paid for by an abbot of the monastery, Andreas Boelgen, and one of the monks, Peter von Mors. Boelgen was abbot between 1524 and 1536. Peter von Mors died in 1531. This would date the construction of the window to between 1524 and 1531.
The image of the crucified Christ is one of the most common subjects represented in Christian art. However, the first images of this subject don’t appear until several hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ. The reason for this probably lies in the fact that during the Roman Imperial period, only base criminals, and non-Roman citizens, were executed in this horrific manner. Early Christians were probably hesitant to call attention to the fact that their saviour, Jesus Christ, died as a common criminal.
Crucifixion was officially abolished in the early 4th century by the Christian Emperor Constantine. Within a century, the death of Christ on the Cross was widely depicted and became a symbol of Christ’s triumph over death and his sacrifice for mankind.
The imagery in this window is represented in a traditional manner. The central figure of Christ on the Cross is flanked by the standing figures of the Virgin Mary on his right and that of St John the Evangelist on his left. St Mary Magdalene clutches the base of the Cross. This type of devotional image of the crucified Christ was popular at the end of the Middle Ages. It could serve as a devotional image on its own or as part of the larger theme of the salvation of mankind which culminates with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
The simple three part image of Mary, Christ on the Cross and St John the Evangelist lends itself well to large window openings, popular at the end of the Middle Ages.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 9 parts.
|
| Title | Crucifixion (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Clear and coloured glass with painted details and yellow (silver) stain |
| Brief description | Window of clear and coloured glass with painted details and yellow (silver) stain depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Originally from the Abbey of Altenberg. Made in Germany (Lower Rhine), about 1525. |
| Physical description | Window composed of three sections. Depicting the Crucifixion of Christ within an architectural framework consisting of two pillars and an over-arching cusped tracery. Mary Magdelene kneels and clutches the foot of the Cross. She is wearing a purple gown. St John the Evangelist stands on the left of Christ. He wears a red-brown gown with a white mantle trimmed in yellow over his left shoulder and gathered at his waist. The Virgin Mary stands on Christ's right and wears a blue gown with a white overmantle with yellow trim. Two angels hover beneath Christ's hands, catching the blood from his wounds into chalices and another captures the blood pouring from the wound in his side. The towers of Jerusalem are seen in the background. |
| Dimensions | Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries |
| Credit line | Given by J. Pierpont Morgan, Jr |
| Object history | Believed to have come from the Abbey of Altenberg, near Cologne. Had been previously on loan from JP Morgan Sr. The panel was first recorded as being from Altenberg in the inventory of J Pierpont Morgan who lent the panel to the museum in 1909. We have no information on where he acquired it or why it was attributed to Altenberg. Working from this information, Bernard Rackham examined the style and attributed it to the Cologne School of painters. The abbey of Altenberg is near Cologne. However, Rackham visited the abbey church and found no window that would accommodate the museum’s panels. In 1927 Dr. van Falke informed Rackham that some panels formerly in the collection of Prince Charles of Prussia in the Berlin Schloss had come from the cloisters of Altenberg Abbey. These cloisters had been demolished in the 19th century. Paul Clemen [date?] described a Crucifixion window in the Schloss Berlin. We have assumed that this window and the museum’s are the same. Eckert carried out extensive studies on the Abbey in the 1950s and was able to attribute the window to the west window of the Marian chapel at the entrance to the cloisters at Altenberg. |
| Historical context | This window is identical to one in the former Antoniterkirche, in the Schildergasse, in Cologne which is dated to around 1510. The same cartoon must have been used to produce these two Crucifixion windows. The imagery in this window is represented in a traditional manner. The central figure of Christ on the Cross is flanked by the standing figures of the Virgin Mary on his left and that of St John the Evangelist on his right. St Mary Magdalene clutches the base of the Cross. This type of devotional image of the crucified Christ was popular at the end of the Middle Ages. It could serve as a devotional image on its own or as part of the larger theme of the salvation of mankind which culminates with Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The simple three part image of Mary, Christ on the Cross and St John the Evangelist lends itself well to large window openings, popular at the end of the Middle Ages. |
| Production | Believed to have come from the Abbey of Altenberg, near Cologne. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Researches carried out in the 1950s on the furnishings of the Abbey of Altenberg near Cologne have enabled us to identify this window as having come from the Lady Chapel (Mariankapelle) at the entrance to the former cloisters. These cloisters had been sold off in 1806 after the monastery was secularised and the furnishings lost or sold off to collectors and dealers. This was the fate of many monastic institutions in Continental Europe at the end of the 18th century and the early 19th century. This window is said to have been paid for by an abbot of the monastery, Andreas Boelgen, and one of the monks, Peter von Mors. Boelgen was abbot between 1524 and 1536. Peter von Mors died in 1531. This would date the construction of the window to between 1524 and 1531. The image of the crucified Christ is one of the most common subjects represented in Christian art. However, the first images of this subject don’t appear until several hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ. The reason for this probably lies in the fact that during the Roman Imperial period, only base criminals, and non-Roman citizens, were executed in this horrific manner. Early Christians were probably hesitant to call attention to the fact that their saviour, Jesus Christ, died as a common criminal. Crucifixion was officially abolished in the early 4th century by the Christian Emperor Constantine. Within a century, the death of Christ on the Cross was widely depicted and became a symbol of Christ’s triumph over death and his sacrifice for mankind. The imagery in this window is represented in a traditional manner. The central figure of Christ on the Cross is flanked by the standing figures of the Virgin Mary on his right and that of St John the Evangelist on his left. St Mary Magdalene clutches the base of the Cross. This type of devotional image of the crucified Christ was popular at the end of the Middle Ages. It could serve as a devotional image on its own or as part of the larger theme of the salvation of mankind which culminates with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The simple three part image of Mary, Christ on the Cross and St John the Evangelist lends itself well to large window openings, popular at the end of the Middle Ages. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.68-1919 |
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| Record created | November 19, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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