Christ as Man of Sorrows, probably Franconian,... Lot 39

Christ as Man of Sorrows, probably Franconian, c. 1490, fruitwood, carved, painted: white-grey incarnate with yellowish overlay, stigmata and traces of blood in strong red, full-round standing figure on a base plate (heavily wormholes), the surface of which is tremolized, so-called "Imago Pietatis" or "Erbärmdebild", which was intended to bring the sufferings of Christ closer to the faithful, which were thus emphasized and depicted accordingly, e.g. by the feet lowered towards the viewer, which make the stigmata just as recognizable as the raised hands, the carefully painted eyes are slightly lowered and suggest that the figure was created for placement on a wall or pillar (which is also indicated by the terse design of the back), a comparable figure is in the coll. of the Veste Rosenberg, Kronach (Bayer. Nationalmuseum), but seems to be somewhat younger, while our sculpture (head shape and facial features) seems to be much more "Gothic" (cf. M. Eissenhauer, Die Skulpturen des 14. bis 17. Jhs, Coburg 1998, p.60 ff.), H: 70 cm. Limit 1800,-.