The Crucifixion

Arriving in Rome in 1818, Schnorr von Carolsfeld joined the quasimonastic group of painters now referred to as the Nazarenes, who were moved by the simplicity and directness of early Renaissance art. Although made after his return to Germany, this drawing looks directly back to Schnorr’s Roman period, where he was successful as a fresco artist but also honed his drawing skill, arguably his greatest area of talent.

In 1842, Schnorr was commissioned to provide a new altarpiece for Munich’s St. Matthäuskirche, the first Protestant church in the city. Although the altarpiece was ultimately executed by pupils, this drawing is Schnorr’s final modello for the church commission, squared for enlargement to the cartoon. The underlying structure is subtly executed in black chalk, while Schnorr indicates volume, light, and shade with varying degrees of brown wash, this technique a development of his late Roman period. Schnorr reserves the white of the paper for the chief foreground figures, lending them volume and a glow reminiscent of marble sculpture.

Schnorr also used this final stage to fine-tune references to the gospel story which modify an earlier, smaller sketch for the project. The most significant of these is Schnorr’s decision to depict Christ in death rather than in anguish. Referring to the gospel of St. John (at right), Schnorr chooses the moment between Christ’s death and the centurion Longinus’s piercing of Christ’s side. Schnorr foretells this act through the gesture of the mounted officer at right, who urges Longinus toward the cross. Other compositional gestures reference other parts of the Passion narrative; for example, the brow of the kneeling Magdalene touches Jesus’s feet, echoing her devotion of washing his feet and drying them with her hair.

(“FIGURE/STUDY: Drawings from the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art,” text by Andrew C. Weislogel and presented at Carlton Hobbs, LLC January 25-February 2, 2019)