Rare 17th / 18th Century German Carved Sculpture “Christ in Distress"

CHRISTUS IN DER RAST (CHRIST IN DISTRESS)

Probably Southern Germany, 18th century

11 1/2" H x 5" D x 7 1/4" W

A finely carved fruitwood sculpture of Christ seated in exhaustion before the Crucifixion, his head bowed into one hand and the opposite arm resting across his knee. Executed from a single block of wood and fully carved on all sides, retaining a warm, richly patinated surface with traces of green polychromy within the crown of thorns.

The composition belongs to the German devotional tradition of Christus in der Rast, or Christus im Elend, established during the late medieval period and particularly associated with the South German sculptural school of the early sixteenth century. Among its important precedents is Hans Leinberger's Christ in Distress, circa 1525, preserved in the Bode Museum, Berlin. The subject continued to be interpreted by Bavarian sculptors throughout the eighteenth century, including Christian Jorhan the Elder.

Condition: Richly patinated early surface with scattered wear, shrinkage cracks and inactive woodworm damage throughout. Carved from a single block of fruitwood, with losses to the projecting thorns of the crown, several of which appear to have been separately inserted and subsequently lost. A mounting hole is present in the perizoma on the reverse. Traces of green polychromy remain within the crown. Localized losses to the wood, particularly along the lower base.

ref. 606SMP25Z