Bartholomeus Spranger. The Body of Christ Supported by Angels

0544145 - ÚDU 2022 RIV CZ eng J - Journal Article
Fučíková, Eliška
Bartholomeus Spranger. The Body of Christ Supported by Angels.
Studia Rudolphina. -, č. 20 (2020), s. 70-81. ISSN 1213-5372
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA20-15927S
Institutional support: RVO:68378033
Keywords : The Body of Christ Supported by Angels * Bartholomeus Spranger * Hans Mont * Hendrick Goltzius
OECD category: Arts, Art history
Method of publishing: Limited access

In 2020 Rijksmuseum received a gift of Bartholomeus Spranger’s painting The Body of Christ Supported by Angels that was previously attributed to Hans von Aachen. Transferred into an engraving by Hendrick Goltzius and dedicated to Baron Paul Sixt Trautson, the composition is a transcription of Spranger’s relief created by Hans Mont. The painting was probably a response to a message about Mont’s death that Spranger received in 1587. Except for fine details, the painter faithfully followed the sculptor’s master drawing although he applied his specific painting style. Twenty years later, in 1607, Spranger further commemorated the painful loss of his friend in the painting Allegory of the Triumph of Fidelity over Fate – Allegory on the Fate of Hans Mont. The painting The Body of Christ Supported by Angels belongs to those works by the painter in which he suppressed the official ‘court’ appearance of his art and dedicated more space to a deep sensual engagement with the theme. This part of the painter’s oeuvre should not be ignored.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0321187