Provenance
Possibly a museum in Breslau (now Wroclaw).[1] (Charles de Burlet, Berlin, 1916); Dr. Otto Fröhlich, Vienna, 1916;[2] sold to Stefan Auspitz [1869-1945], Vienna, until 1931.[3] (Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc., New York, owned jointly with Pinakos, Inc. [Rudolf Heinemann], by 1951);[4] purchased 1951 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[5] gift 1952 by exchange to NGA.
[1] Unverified. There are no records of the paintings having been in the Muzeum Narodowe, letter of 11 April 1989 from Mariusz Hermansdorfer to John Hand, in NGA curatorial files, or the Muzeum Archidiecezjalne, letter of 25 June 1989 from Józef Pater to John Hand, in NGA curatorial files.
[2] Memorandum of a communication from Lilly Fröhlich, London, 1956, in NGA curatorial files, which states that Otto Fröhlich acquired the paintings in 1916 from an unspecified museum in Breslau through de Burlet and sold them to Stefan von Auspitz.
[3]Stefan Auspitz was a Viennese banker who was forced by the Austrian financial crisis of 1931 to forfeit most of his collection to creditors of the Austrian government, by whom it was sold to the Dutch collector van Beuningen, who consigned the works for sale over a period of time through the Bachstitz gallery. This painting and its companion, 1952.5.85, do not appear to have been part of those transactions. Instead they were held as security at the firm of Fa. Bäume in Vienna.
[4] Letter of 13 April 1989 from Gerald G. Stiebel to John Hand, in NGA curatorial files. The invoice is dated 23 October 1951.
[5] See The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/2118.
Accession Number
1952.5.84
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
overall (painted surface, including added strip at bottom): 107.5 x 41 cm (42 5/16 x 16 1/8 in.) | support: 109.4 x 41.9 cm (43 1/16 x 16 1/2 in.) | framed: 125.1 x 57.5 x 7 cm (49 1/4 x 22 5/8 x 2 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Tags
Painting Renaissance (1400–1599) Oil Painting Panel Painting German
Background & Context
Background Story
This painting of the Crucifixion is attributed to the Workshop of Hans Mielich (1516-1573), the German painter known for the precisely observed religious paintings that make him one of the most important painters of the Bavarian Renaissance. Workshop attributions indicate that the painting was produced in Mielich's studio, possibly under his supervision, rather than entirely by the master's hand. The c. 1550/1575 date places this in the period when Mielich's workshop was producing the precisely observed religious paintings that are typical of the Bavarian Renaissance, and the Crucifixion subject was one of the most important subjects in the Bavarian religious painting tradition.
Cultural Impact
The Crucifixion is important in the history of Bavarian Renaissance painting because it demonstrates how the precisely observed manner of Hans Mielich was carried on by his workshop after his most productive period. Workshop productions—produced under the master's supervision rather than entirely by his hand—were an important part of the Bavarian Renaissance painting tradition, and the c. 1550/1575 painting shows how Mielich's precisely observed religious manner was maintained in his workshop.
Why It Matters
The Crucifixion from the Workshop of Hans Mielich: the Crucifixion rendered in the precisely observed manner of one of the most important painters of the Bavarian Renaissance. The c. 1550/1575 painting shows how Mielich's religious manner was maintained in his workshop, producing religious paintings under the master's supervision.