Wolf Huber, 'Christ taking leave of his Mother', about 1520
About the work
Overview
The subject of Christ bidding farewell to his mother, the Virgin Mary, as he heads to Jerusalem to face his arrest, trial and death was very popular in southern Germany. This is a fragment of a larger painting, which has been cut at the right edge – only Christ’s hands and part of his long crimson robe remain. The main focus of the image is the swooning Virgin Mary, who has collapsed into the arms of her companions.
Huber was skilled at expressing emotion through gesture and this is probably his most expressive and dramatic image. The composition, with the holy women to the left and Christ standing to the right, is similar to a version of the scene by Albrecht Altdorfer, which is also in the National Gallery’s collection. Huber may have been inspired by Altdorfer’s painting, which was made slightly earlier.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Christ taking leave of his Mother
- Artist
- Wolf Huber
- Artist dates
- 1480/5 - 1553
- Date made
- about 1520
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 95.5 × 68.2 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1995
- Inventory number
- NG6550
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 20th-century Replica Frame
Provenance
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
-
2014Strange Beauty: Masters of the German RenaissanceThe National Gallery (London)19 February 2014 - 11 May 2014
Bibliography
-
1996National Gallery, The National Gallery Report: April 1995- March 1996, London 1996
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
-
2024S. Foister, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800, 2 vols, London 2024
Frame
This is a twentieth-century replica box frame, made at the Gallery. It is crafted from ebonised oak. A fillet back moulding steps to a hollow before the frieze. A small cavetto leads to a gilt-bar sight edge.
The frame was inspired by the Northern European sixteenth-century frame on Hans Holbein’s A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling. The frame is designed to leave an air gap around the painting.
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.