The Ascension of Christ
This Ascension of Christ into heaven is emphasized by depicting him as leaving the pictorial space. Only his feet and lower legs, engulfed by clouds, appear at the top, while on the ground the twelve apostles and the Virgin Mary witness his departure. Kulmbach, who trained with Albrecht Dürer, adapted the composition from a woodcut by his teacher. This painting and eight others (now dispersed among various museums) once comprised the wings and base (predella) of an altarpiece devoted to the life of the Virgin, with a sculpture of her coronation as its centerpiece.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Ascension of Christ
- Artist: Hans Süss von Kulmbach (German, Kulmbach ca. 1480–1522 Nuremberg)
- Date: 1513
- Medium: Oil on fir
- Dimensions: Overall 24 1/4 x 15 in. (61.5 x 38.1 cm); painted surface 24 1/4 x 14 1/8 in. (61.5 x 35.9 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1921
- Object Number: 21.84
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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