Albrecht Dürer, Head of
the dead Christ, a
drawing
Germany, signed and dated AD
1503
This dramatic drawing of the dead Christ is
made in charcoal. Christ's head is tilted back, his eyes
are closed and his mouth open wide. One half of his face lies in
shadow, the soft charcoal rubbed carefully into the paper. Above,
the Crown of Thorns ferociously pierces his forehead. The long
spikes of the thorns contrast strongly with the long curls of his
hair which trail, limply down his shoulder. The small, loose curls
of his beard stand out against the white of the paper. The strong
neck is deeply shadowed. However, the line of the shoulders is
barely indicated.
The text,
written by the artist, records that the artist made 'two
faces' when he was ill in that year. This drawing may be a
companion to another in The British Museum which shows a suffering
man. The two drawings of male suffering may reflect the
artist's state of mind during his own
illness.
Although a work of
art in its own right, this drawing may have been made in connection
with a print or painting. However, no such finished work is
known.
J. Rowlands with G. Bartrum, The age of Dürer and Holbein: (London, The British Museum Press, 1988)
J. Rowlands and G. Bartrum, Drawings by German artists in, 2 vols. (London, The British Museum Press, 1993)
J.C. Hutchison, Albrecht Dürer: a biography (Princeton University Press, 1990)
E. Panofsky, Life and art of Albrecht Dürer, 4th ed. (Princeton University Press, 1955)