German School circa 1600 - Christ on the Cross with Saint Bruno, Hugh of Lincoln and Hugh of Châteauneuf - image-1

Lot 1124 Dα

German School circa 1600 - Christ on the Cross with Saint Bruno, Hugh of Lincoln and Hugh of Châteauneuf

Auction 1029 - overview Cologne
17.05.2014, 12:00 - Old Master Paintings and Drawings, Sculptures
Estimate: 25.000 € - 30.000 €
Result: 24.400 € (incl. premium)

German School circa 1600

Christ on the Cross with Saint Bruno, Hugh of Lincoln and Hugh of Châteauneuf

Oil on canvas (relined). 211 x 148 cm.

This altar painting shows Christ crucified amid the three most important saints of the Carthusian order. Their founder, Bruno of Cologne, is depicted kneeling at the foot of the cross. This saint was born into a wealthy patrician family in Cologne, but chose to withdraw to a hermitage near Grenoble in 1084, which was later to develop into Grande Chartreuse abbey and eventually become the head monastery of the Carthusian order - officially recognised by Pope Alexander III in 1170. The Bishop Saint Hugh of Châteauneuf, who provided the newly founded community of monks with land in the Chartreuse mountains, is shown to the right of the cross. According to legend, the bishop had a vision in which he saw seven stars settling upon this land, representing Saint Bruno and his first six companions. Thus, these stars belong to the Saint's attributes alongside his bishop's crozier and mitre. To the left of the cross we see Saint Hugh of Lincoln with his attributes the swan and a chalice with the Christ Child. The Bishop Saint Hugh became the first member of the Carthusian order to be canonised, a rite carried out by Pope Honorius III in 1220. In contrast, the founder of the order, Saint Bruno of Cologne, was first canonised in 1514 by Pope Leo X.
This painting, which can be dated to around 1600, shows a clearly structured composition, with the brightly illuminated body of Christ forming its center and the three Saints dressed in the offwhite habits of the Carthusians before a dark background. The central scene is accompanied by adoring cherubs amid clouds at the top of the painting, and the lower edge is covered with flowers and bones representing Golgota. The painting's motif leads us to assume that it is an altar painting originally intended for a church of the Carthusian order which could have been situated in Cologne, home town of the order's founder. The Cologne Carthusian church of St. Barbara was founded in 1334 and was in use until 6th October 1794, when it was dissolved in the course of secularisation. A further altar painting from this church by Anton Woensam (1493/1496-1541) is currently kept in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum under the inventory number 208.