Hans Baldung Grien, 'The Trinity and Mystic Pietà', 1512

The Trinity and Mystic Pietà

Hans Baldung Grien

Not on display

About the work

Overview

The Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist stand in Christ’s red marble tomb supporting his lifeless body. He is partially covered by a burial shroud, but the spear wound on his side is visible. The Virgin mourns her son, wiping her eyes with her veil. John the Evangelist places his hand to his breast, an agonised expression on his face. All three members of the Trinity are present: behind Christ is God the Father; above him is the dove that represents the Holy Ghost. In the background, dense grey storm clouds have parted to reveal a yellow-gold sky.

The small figures in front of the tomb are probably the painting’s patrons. One figure raises his right hand and looks up towards Christ, creating a connection between the patrons and the holy figures. The two coats of arms on either side identify the donors: the one to the left is probably that of the Bettschold family of Strasbourg, while the other may belong to the Rothschild family.

In-depth

The Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist stand with Christ in his red marble tomb supporting his lifeless body. He is partially covered by a burial shroud, but the spear wound on his side is visible. Streaks of blood on his chest have run down from the cuts on his forehead caused by the crown of thorns.

The Virgin’s face is contorted with grief as she wipes her tears with her white veil. John places his hand to his breast, an agonised expression on his face. All three members of the Trinity are present: behind Christ is God the Father, also shown grieving, like a human parent; above him is the dove that represents the Holy Ghost. The divine figures occupy a heavenly realm; the yellow-gold sky seems to have dispelled the dense storm clouds, which have scattered to the edges of the scene.

The small figures in front of the tomb are probably the painting’s patrons, their size emphasising both their own humanity and the divinity of the group they worship. Women kneel on one side and men on the other, their hands pressed together in prayer. They are being led by the figure at the centre dressed as a canon, who raises his right hand and looks up towards Christ, creating a connection between the patrons and the holy figures. The patrons cast shadows on the grass beneath them, a detail that Baldung Grien included to emphasise their physical presence in contrast to the heavenly vision they are witnessing.

The two coats of arms on either side of the picture identify the donors: the one to the left is probably that of the Bettschold family of Strasbourg, and the other may be that of the Rothschild family. The painting may have been made for St Pierre-le-Vieux in Strasbourg, where Baldung Grien was born and lived. His signature appears on the tomb, just above the women’s heads, along with the date (1512), painted to look as though they are carved into the marble.

Key facts

Details

Full title: The Trinity and Mystic Pietà
Artist: Hans Baldung Grien
Artist dates: 1484/5 - 1545
Date made: 1512
Medium and support: oil on wood
Dimensions: 112.3 × 89.1 cm
Inscription summary: Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1894
Inventory number: NG1427
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

By May 1777 the painting was in the collection of the antiquary Dr Richard Farmer (1735–1797), Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, who believed the coats of arms to be those of the Howards, dukes of Norfolk. In the catalogue of the Farmer sale (Biblioteca Farmeriana, London, 7 May 1798, lot 58) it is described as ‘painted for a branch of the Howard family, who are depicted kneeling in the lower compartment’. The painting was acquired by Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk (1746–1815), politician and restorer of Arundel castle. The painting is next recorded in the collection of A.F. Payne, perhaps the artist Arthur Frederick Payne (born 1831), in 1891 when exhibited at the Royal Academy. It was bought in 1894 from the picture dealer and restorer Joseph Henry Carter (1862–1937) by the furniture collector and dealer Sir George Donaldson (1845–1925), who immediately offered it to the National Gallery at cost price, £600. It was purchased out of the Lewis Fund.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Susan Foister, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800’, London 2024; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2014

Strange Beauty: Masters of the German Renaissance

The National Gallery (London)

19 February 2014 - 11 May 2014
2019

Hans Baldung Grien: sacred | profane

Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe

30 November 2019 - 8 March 2020

Bibliography

1894

G. von Térey, Verzeichnis der Gemälde des Hans Baldung Grien, Baden-Baden 1894
1895

G. von Térey, 'Austellungen und Versteigerungen', Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, 1895
1906

F. Rieffel, 'Einige Bemerkungen über Hans Baldung', in Friedrich Schneider zum 70sten Geburtstage, Fribourg 1906, pp. 85-9
1923

H. Curjel, Hans Baldung Grien, Munich 1923
1927

E. Panofsky, '"Imago pietatis": Ein Beitrag zur Typengeschichte des "Schmerzenmanns" und der "Maria Mediatrix"', in P.O. Kristeller (ed.), Festschrift für M. J. Friedländer, Leipzig 1927, pp. 261-308
1934

F.G. Pariset, 'Note sur les Donataires de la Pietà de Londres par H.Baldung Grien (1512)', Annuaire de la Société historique, littéraire et scientifique, II, 1934, pp. 1-10
1936

G. Troescher, 'Die "Pitié-de-Notre-Seigneur" oder "Notgottes"', Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch, IX, 1936, pp. 148-68
1939

O. Fischer, Hans Baldung Grien, Munich 1939
1941

H. Perseke, Hans Baldungs Schaffen in Freiburg, Fribourg 1941
1949

G.R. Owst, 'Iconomania in Eighteenth-Century Cambridge: Notes on a Newly-Acquired Miniature of Dr Farmer and his Interest in Historical Portraiture', The Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, XLII, 1949, pp. 74-7
1953

C. Koch, 'Kataloge der erhaltenen Gemälde, der Einblattholzschnitte und illustrierten Bücher von Hans Baldung Grien', Kunstchronik, VI, 1953
1959

Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Schools, London 1959
1961

L.D. Ettlinger, 'Reflections on German Paintings: Review of Michael Levey, the German School, 1959', The Burlington Magazine, CIII/697, 1961, pp. 132-8
1970

A. Burkhard, The Freiburg Altar of Hans Baldung, Munich 1970
1981

A. Shestack, An Introduction to Hans Baldung Grien (exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 25 January - April 5 1981; Yale Center for British Art, April 23 - June 14 1981), Washington 1981
1983

G. von der Osten, Hans Baldung Grien: Gemälde und Dokumente, Berlin 1983
1997

R. Billinge et al., 'Methods and Materials of Northern European Painting in the National Gallery, 1400–1550', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XVIII, 1997, pp. 6-52
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2024

S. Foister, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800, 2 vols, London 2024

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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Hans Baldung Grien, 'The Trinity and Mystic Pietà', 1512

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Exhibition history

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Hans Baldung Grien