The carving of this animated Crucifixion scene closely relates to that on known works by the Upper Rhenish sculptor Hans Wydytz. This scene was probably the central tableau of a small private altarpiece or devotional shrine. A stylistically related work representing the Mount of Olives, now in Berlin, originally may have served as a wing or side panel. Wydytz, who worked in Freiburg im Breisgau, was particularly accomplished in small-scale wood sculpture. The densely populated composition, the dramatic integration of the groups of figures, and the variety of facial type and expression contribute to the compelling theatricality of the scene.
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Aimé Charles Vincent de Palézieux-Falconnet, Weimar ; Edouard Chappey, Paris (until 1907) ; his sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris (June 5-7, 1907, no. 1771) ; [ Henri Daguerre, Paris (1907–sold 1908)] ; Ambrose Monell, Tuxedo Park (1908–d. 1921) ; his posthumous sale, Anderson Galleries American, New York (November 28, 1930, no. 24) ; Oscar B. Cintas, New York (until d. 1957) ; his posthumous sale, O’Reilly’s Plaza Art Galleries, New York (May 1961, no. 77) ; [ Edward R. Lubin, Works of Art, New York (sold 1961) ]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971.
Catalogue des objets d'art et de haute curiosité du Moyen-Âge, de la Renaissance et autres. Collections de M. Edouard Chappey (quatrième vente). Paris: Galerie Georges Petit, June 5–7, 1907. no. 1771, p. 44, ill.
Collection of the late Colonel Ambrose Monell. New York: American Art Association, November 28, 1930. no. 24, ill.
"'Additions to the Collections,' Ninety-First Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year 1960-1961." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 20, no. 2 (October 1961). p. 68.
"Chronache: New York." Emporium 136 (1962). p. 123.
Hoving, Thomas. "In Search of a Rhenish Master." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 20, no. 10 (June 1962). pp. 289–302, fig. 1–10.
Forsyth, William H., and Margaret B. Freeman. "'Report of the Departments,' Ninety-Second Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year 1961-1962." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 21, no. 2 (October 1962). p. 80.
Schroth, Ingeborg. "Zum Werk des Schnitzers Hans Wydyz." Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 22, nos. 1–3 (1962). p. 92.
Gorissen, Friedrich. Ludwig Jupan von Marburg. Kunstdenkmäler des Rheinlandes, Vol. Beiheft 13. Düsseldorf: Rheinland-Verlag, 1969. pp. 51, 52, fig. 34.
Petrasch, Ernst, ed. Spätgotik am Oberrhein: Meisterwerke der Plastik und des Kunsthandwerks, 1450-1530. Karlsruhe: Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, 1970. pp. 145, 196.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. New York: Dutton Publishing, 1970. no. 174, p. 192.
Wixom, William D. "Medieval Sculpture at The Cloisters." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 46, no. 3 (Winter 1988-1989). p. 17.
Gross, Sibylle. Hans Wydyz: Sein Oeuvre und die oberrheinische Bildschnitzkunst. New York: Olms, 1997. no. 14, pp. 341–42.
Gross, Sibylle. "Bildanalogien zwischen nieder- und oberrheinischen Skulpturen um 1500: Zum Werk des Meisters der Muggensturmer Retabels." In Der Niederrhein und die alten Niederlande: Kunst und Kultur im späten Mittelalter: Referate des Kolloquiums zur Ausstellung "Gegen den Strom, Meisterwerke niederrheinischer Bildschnitzkunst in Zeiten der Reformation (1500-1550)". Bielefeld: Bielefelder Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, 1999. pp. 52–67, fig. 1, 2.
Wixom, William D. "Riemenschneider in America." In Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages, edited by Julien Chapuis. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1999. p. 156.
Workshop of Tilman Heysacker (German, active Cologne 1487–died 1515)
late 15th century
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