The Passion: Christ in Limbo

c. 1480
(German, c.1450–1491)
Sheet: 16.5 x 11.7 cm (6 1/2 x 4 5/8 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: L 29; TIB 8 comm., pt. 1, 0801.029
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location: not on view

Download, Print and Share

Did You Know?

This image of Christ trampling a monstrous demon and piercing it with his cross recalls the one of Archangel Michael in another print by Martin Schongauer (1952.99).

Description

Martin Schongauer's series The Passion of Christ was his largest set of engravings, made around 1480, and extensively copied across Europe. It consists of 12 prints detailing the suffering of Christ in the last days of his life. Schongauer's version focuses on crowded scenes, grotesque physiognomies of Christ's tormentors, and great pathos in the compositions. Here, Schongauer represented the episode in which Christ, between his death and resurrection, descended into Limbo to bring salvation to the righteous ones who had died before him. Christ majestically strides over a vanquished demon crushed under his foot, and holds Adam's hand with his left hand.
The Passion: Christ in Limbo

The Passion: Christ in Limbo

c. 1480

Martin Schongauer

(German, c.1450–1491)
Germany, 15th Century

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.