New issue

Issues of 2008

The passion of christ by Lucas Cranach the elder. Iconography

Here is the continuation of the article concerning one of the major masterpieces of the Renaissance art of graphics, namely, ⌠The Passion of Christ■ series of woodcuts by Lucas Cranach the Elder. There is no doubt that such artists as Albrecht Durer, Hans Burgkmair the Elder, Albrecht Altdorfer, Hans Baldung Grien and Hans Holbein the Younger knew this outstanding work by Lucas Cranach.

The next sheet of the series is called ⌠Jesus before King Herod■ (Hollstein 14). Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, had a fourth part of the Judea Kingdom in his power and hence was called a ⌠tetrarch■ (Luke 3:1). He was lascivious and married the wife of his brother, Herodias. For this deed, he was condemned by John the Baptist (Mark 6:18√20). Herod Antipas, who was the ruler of only Galilee and Perea suited the position of a King. Emperor Caligula sent him and Herodias to sentence in Lyon in Gallia.

Lucas Cranach the Elder. The crowning Jesus with the Crown of Thorns and the Mocking of Jesus. 1509. Woodcut. 17.6 x 25.5 cm. The State Hermitage Museum. The State Hermitage Museum [zoom (78k)]

Herod was eager to see Jesus to satisfy his curiosity (Luke 9: 7√9). ⌠When Pilate learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time■ (Luke 23:7). The latter asked Jesus many questions, however, received no answers.

The other artists used to depict Herod as a magnificent figure sitting on a throne and wearing a crown. In the work by Cranach, however, Herod wears only a turban. He holds a stick in his hand instead of a sceptre. The theme of the spheres flanking the throne can be considered as the symbol of Herod▓s craving for power, the same symbolism is characterized also for ⌠Jesus before King Herod■ woodcut by Albrecht Altdorfer in his series ⌠The Fall and Salvation of the Humankind■ (about 1513; W. 25√64., Winzinger, Franz. Albrecht Altdorfer. Graphik. Holzschnitte, Kupferstiche, Radierungen. Munchen, 1963 ≈ hereafter referred to as W.). We can see such spheric items in the woodcut ⌠Jesus before King Herod■ (W. 47), which is mistakingly named by some scholars: ⌠Jesus before Pilate■. However Altdorfer always depicts Pilate wearing a high hat (⌠Ecce Homo■ ≈ W. 50 and ⌠Pilate washing the hands■ ≈ W. 51). Herod in W. 47 also holds a stick instead of a ceremonial rod as in the analogous Cranach's work.

The grape shoots above the throne also have some symbolic meaning. Gnostics place this subject in the circle of things attributed to the Devil. In the apocryphal ⌠Book of Enoch■, the grape vine is associated with the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the New Testament, the vine symbolizes Jesus (John 15:1√6).

In the woodcut ⌠The Flogging of Jesus■ (Hollstein 15), the biblical event taking place in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies about the ⌠ailing slave■ (Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1) is presented. Pontius Pilate ordered to scourge Jesus before the crucifixion in accordance with the Roman habit. The artist positions the procurator in the drawing (standing on the staircase wearing a turban) supervising the execution of his order.

The image of suffering of Christ is in the centre of the scene of ⌠The Crowning of Jesus with the Crown of Thorns and the Mocking of Jesus■ (Hollstein 16) (Matt 27:27√30; Mark 15:16√19; John 19:2√3). A crown of thorns was put on the head of Jesus and a stick was handled to him as a mocking image of a king▓s sceptre. We can suppose that the figures of the two men standing on the raised part of the praetorium are in fact Herod and Pilate, for the relations between them considerably improved after Pilate sending Jesus to the judgement by Herod (Luke 23:12). Herod wearing a long dress with a bestia-hat on his head instead of a crown stands with the hands crossed on his chest and respectfully listens to the agitated speech of gesticulating Pilate.

In the ⌠Ecce Homo■ woodcut (Hollstein 17) Cranach follows the text of the Gospel: ⌠Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate saith onto them, Behold the man!■ (John 19:5). The Jews and Roman soldiers standing before Pilate and his sidekicks insist on crucifying Jesus. In the crowd demanding putting Jesus to death we can see also some children. This can be connected with the fact that taking responsibility for the death of the Christ, the Jews cried loud: ⌠Let his blood be on us and on our children■ (Matt 27:25).

Above the scene, the followers of Christ including his kinsmen are present. The coats of arms of the electors of Saxony are presented on the wall of the balcony.

The woodcut ⌠Pilate washing the hands■ (Hollstein 18) presents the judgment of Christ in the Jerusalem palace or in the praetorium of the Judea procurator. The tapestry above the chair in the throne-accessory style, table with an elaborate basement, spherical lamp ≈ all these things remind of the gala-halls of the European landlords of the 15th century.

Lucas Cranach the Elder. The Ressurection of Christ. 1509. Woodcut. 17.6 x 25.8 cm. The State Hermitage Museum [zoom (71k)]

Above the Pilates▓ head, a garland of fruits is hanging as a sign of acknowledging his services by Rome. The procurator, tuning to the local habits adopted wearing a turban and sported a beard. Pilate is wearing European clothes of the late 15th ≈ early 16th centuries. It symbolizes the ⌠Passion■ being above the situation of a particular epoch.

In ⌠Carrying of the Cross■ woodcut (Hollstein 19) Cranach depicts Pilate and Herod riding side by side (in the left part of the composition). A suggestion was made that the chief priest Caiaphas was depicted by Pilate▓s side in this woodcut (Koepplin und Falk, S. 475, Kat. Nо. 319). However, the text of the Gospels does not provide the proof of such an opinion. On the contrary it is reported that Herod after mocking and humiliating Jesus and sending him back to Pilates established good relations between them. ⌠And the same day Pilate and Herode were made friends together■ (Luke 23:12). The additional argument in favor of namely Herod being depicted in the woodcut and not Caiaphas lies with the man wearing a vermilion fur clothes decoration, which was an attribute of royal persons. A Roman soldier is mocking Jesus fallen under the heavy cross. He raises him pulling a rope and at the same legs him pushing him forwards.

⌠The Crucifixion■ (Hollstein 20) by Cranach depicts Jesus on the cross between the two thieves on Golgotha crowded with people. Most of the people standing to the right of the Lord are his relatives and supporters, the ones standing to the left are his persecutors. Developing the Gospel story of the Crucifixion of Jesus, Cranach placed on Golgotha the equestrian figures of the high priest and the procurator. Pilate is depicted with a beard and wearing a turban. He instructs a warrior in a chain mail wagging a finger at him. This officer holding a weapon in form of a two-dented fork can be associated with the centurion who put his faith in Christ (Matt 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47). Cranach repeatedly depicted the Repented Centurion on Golgotha in his works of different periods including presenting him standing alone before the crucified Christ on the Golgotha free of the other people.

Comparing the person in arms on the woodcut by Cranach (Hollstein 20) instructed by Pilate with the analogues in the works by the other masters makes us to draw the conclusion that it is the Repented Centurion of the Gospels.

⌠The Lamentation■ (Hollstein 21) and ⌠The Entombment■ (Hollstein 22) woodcuts are trivial in the sense of iconography: ⌠Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid■ (John 19:41√42). The composition of both plots was inherited by Cranach from the previous generations of artists.

Particularly, the influence of the late medieval art of the Netherlands and Westphalia can be traced, e.g. in the way of presenting the image of Mary Magdalena, who is depicted being touchingly young in a magnificent dress, richly decorated with precious gems. Both items characterized by the high grade of tragic emotions could be alloted to the highest artistic achievements of Cranach. In ⌠The Resurrection of Christ■ (Hollstein 23), the Saviour stands on the stone rolled from the door of the tomb holding a banner with a cross in the left hand and making a blessing with the right hand. Everything around him is trembling under the gust of wind, for ⌠the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet■ (Nah 1:3). The Roman soldiers lay asleep around the raised Jesus, those whom Pilate ordered to guard the tomb ⌠until the third day■ on the advice by Pharisees (Matt 27:62√66). Jesus stands on a rectangular hewn stone, presumably, on the cornerstone ⌠which the builders rejected■ and which became ⌠the head of the corner■ (Ps 117:22; Matt 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Cor 3:11).

Lucas Cranach the Elder, a genial artist of a rather individual artistic style created his quite original ⌠Passion of Christ■. In this opus, he stuck to the artistic principles of the late Middle Ages in flattening of space and affected Gothic-style forms. He purposefully hyperbolized the personal characters of his heroes reaching the scale of grotesque. In ⌠The Passion of Christ■, full of religious pathetic, Cranach succeeded in demonstrating the marginal spiritual statuses and approached the expression of the genuine essence of the Universe.