Veit Stoß

Horb am Neckar 1447 – 1533 Nuremberg, workshop attributed to
Museum Corpus Christi
Nuremberg
Around 1500
Carved boxwood
Height 31 cm, total height 43 cm

This Corpus Christi was created around 1490-1500 in Nuremberg or Krakow and can be attributed to the workshop of Veit Stoß (1447-1533) due to its masterful carving. The 31 cm high figure is carved from boxwood, a material that is particularly well known for its detailed, naturalistic carving of small-scale objects.

Veit Stoß, one of the leading carvers of the late Gothic period, was active both in Germany and Poland. Only a few monumental Corpus Christi from his workshop have survived that bear similarities to this object. However, Johann Neudörffer the Elder (1497-1563), Stoß’s biographer, reports of a hand-sized crucifix in the estate of a Nuremberg patrician named Christoph Kohler. Veit Stoß became particularly well known for his technical virtuosity in carving wood, focusing on the detailed hair, the folds of the garment and the realistic physiognomy and surface treatment of the human body. These characteristics can be associated with Dutch sculpture, which was taught by Nicolaus Gerhaert van Leyden (c. 1420-73).

Christ is shown in a three-nail pose and under full tension, which is reflected in the sinewy muscles of the legs. The inwardly tilted abdomen indicates his last breath and the cruel death on the cross. Other physiognomic features such as the nipples and knees are emphasized and the elongated legs are criss-crossed with veins. The perizonium or loincloth, which barely conceals Jesus’ shame and emphasizes his anatomy, is particularly impressive. It is wrapped tightly around the hips and tied in a knot at the front, reinforcing the vertical height of the figure. The antithesis of this is Christ’s head, which is crowned with a crown of thorns and tilts limply and lifelessly to one side. A single Gothic curl rests on his upper body, as does his finely stylized and elaborate chin beard, which ends in two curls. In contrast to the almost idealized-realistic, beautiful body, the expressive face is dramatically distorted with deeply sunken eye sockets, a prominent straight nose and a full mouth. The features of Jesus’ face, which have slipped away in death, show him with half-closed, staring eyes and a mouth open in pain. Here Christ’s ordeal comes to an abrupt end in its intensely human but manneristically slender physicality.

The figure is comparable to the Corpus Christi from the Getty Center (inv. no. 2019.94), which was acquired by Sotheby’s in 2018 for £1,138,000. There are particular similarities to this 34 cm high Christ in the head pose, the modeling of the body and the loincloth tied in the same manner. Another important indication are the almost hyper-realistic veins on the thighs, crossed in an X shape. In a similarly tense posture and emotionally charged facial expression, the corpus invites us to private devotion, for which this work was most likely intended. This is therefore another important work in the sculptor’s oeuvre and the second surviving small-format version of the motif, whereby the figure presented here is even a few centimetres smaller and thus particularly emphasizes the expressive execution of the carver.