1004 - Tilman Riemenschneider und Werkstatt

Tilman Riemenschneider und Werkstatt Tilman Riemenschneider and Workshop A Crucifix by Tilmann Riemenschneider and Workshop The corpus is thought to be made of limewood and is covered with several layers of multicoloured paint; the vertical beam of the cross is probably also made of limewood with traces of former polychromy, whilst the horizontal beam is made of pine or larch. A fully carved corpus, fixed to the (later, flat-carved) cross in a taut, upright position with three nails. The bearded head with crown of thorns inclined to the left, one curling lock of hair falling into the left armpit, another onto the right side of the chest. The ends of the loincloth, wound around the hips and drawn between the legs, flutter freely on either side. Both arms and the left flare of the loincloth are later additions; the polychromy has been overpainted. The top and bottom of the vertical crossbeam have been shortened; it may date from the early period, whilst the horizontal beams have probably been replaced. Corpus height c. 90 cm; width 84 cm; cross height 130; width 99 cm. Certificate Dr Albrecht Miller, 10.2.2026. Provenance Coll. Georg Schuster (1869–1937), Munich, until 1937. – Julius Böhler, Munich, 17–18 March 1938, lot 129. – Bought at auction there by Henri Heilbronner acting as an intermediary on behalf of Julius Böhler, Munich, and acquired by Julius Böhler, Munich, on 7 April 1938. – Acquired by August Neuerburg (1884–1944), Hamburg, on 9 January 1941. – In the Georg Schuster family until 2023. – Neumeister, Munich, anniversary auction, 20–21 September 2023, lot 202. – Private collection, southern Germany. Literature H. Wilm: Die Sammlung Georg Schuster, Munich 1937, p. 26, ill. 36 b, pl. 18. – H. Wilm: Die Sammlung Georg Schuster in München 1937, Pantheon, XX (1937), pp. 293–301. – R. Kahsnitz: Tilman Riemenschneider. Zwei Figurengruppen unter dem Kreuz Christi, in: Bayerisches Nationalmuseum München, Munich 1997, pp. 13ff. – Exh. cat. Washington 1999/2000: Tilman Riemenschneider. Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages, Washington 2000, no. 33, the Crucifixion group, now in the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt. – Exh. cat. Würzburg 2004: Tilman Riemenschneider – Werke seiner Blütezeit, Regensburg 2004, nos. 30ff. The Julius Böhler index card for the Munich branch, preserved at the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in Munich (M_38-0049, http://boehler.zikg.eu/wisski/navigate/11955/view), together with an analysis of the annotated personal copy of the Schuster auction catalogue, demonstrates that Heilbronner acted in this case as an intermediary (commission agent) on Böhler’s behalf.