Martin Schongauer

Ex coll. John Malcolm (L. 1489)

The British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings, collection J. Malcolm (L. 1780)

British Museum duplicate (L. 305)

With the Colnaghi inventory number C.23138

Bartsch 25; Lehrs, Hollstein 14; Stogdon 7

This impression cited in Lehrs and Stogdon.

Such was Schongauer’s remarkable talent that in his lifetime he was known as ‘pictorum gloria’. The grace of his work became proverbial even during his lifetime, and he became known by the epithet ‘Martin Hübsch’ or ‘der schöne Martin’, and in Italy ‘il bel Martino (charming or beautiful Martin). Like Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Martin was the son of a goldsmith of Augsburg, Caspar Schongauer. The art of engraving originated in the Rhine valley in German and was developed by goldsmiths now only known by their initials - the most prominent being the Master E.S. (fl. 1440-1468), who influenced and probably trained Schongauer.

It is as an engraver that the artist stands peerless in Northern Europe of his time, and the first engraver known to have been not only a goldsmith, but a painter. He was the finest engraver before Dürer. Schongauer’s entire engraved work, consisting of about 115 plates and all signed with his monogram, can be seen as a final, highly refined and sensitive manifestation of the late Gothic spirit. Within the diversity of trends in German art in this period, Schongauer represents the most idealistic and aristocratic strand, devoting his art to Christian subjects rather than to the crude and humorous realism in the graphic work of his peers. Technically, he brought the art of engraving to maturity by expanding its range of contrasts and textures, thus introducing a painter’s viewpoint into an art that had been primarily the domain of the goldsmith.

The Crucifixion of Christ belongs to Schongauer’s mature period and the last five years of his life, 1475-80. The composition of the Crucifixion with four Angels is perfectly balanced, the figures graceful in their symmetry and poses, while it is rich in symbolic and emotional detail. We see an emaciated Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist, the latter clasping a book that foreshadows his role as the writer of one of the Gospels. The four angels holding chalices, an allusion to the Eucharist, collect the blood from Christ’s wounds, their crisply billowing robes matching the elegantly contorted loincloth. On the base of the cross lies a skull, representing Golgotha, the ‘place of the skull’, where Christ was crucified. The skull also alludes to Adam’s burial site, linking Christ’s sacrifice to the redemption of original sin.  The sharp, metallic quality of the drapery reminds us of the artist’s roots in goldsmith work – see for example the drapery in the partially gilded figure of St. Sebastian reliquary in the Victoria & Albert Museum, executed in 1497 after a design by Hans Holbein the Elder (circa 1460-1524).

Schongauer was renowned for his ability to render intricate details, as seen in the expressive faces and the delicate landscape whose skeletal tree, to the right, mirrors the posture of Christ. His technical mastery - his use of fine, controlled lines to create shading and depth - helped elevate engraving as an art form, influencing Albrecht Dürer. He was the first engraver to sign his works with his monogram (typically ‘M+S’, seen here at the bottom). Serving as a personal trademark, it asserted his identity and ensured recognition of his skill.

The ability to produce multiple impressions from a single engraved plate allowed Schongauer to reach a broader audience than was possible with one-of-a-kind works such as painting and sculpture. Portable, affordable and easily distributed, his engravings were ideal for personal devotion, allowing the viewer to focus on Christ’s suffering and sacrifice, and on humanity’s redemption.

Rich, black impressions of the present engraving are rare. Lehr cites about 50 impressions of this work in public collections. This impression is cited as one of the seven notable impressions to which he awards three stars.