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Nicholas of Verdun, Resurrection panel from the Klosterneuburg Altarpiece
Mosan, 1181
Klosterneuburg (Austria), Monastery Church
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Consequently, artists had no Biblical text to guide them in their imagining of the moment. Without the specific guidance they were mostly free to consult their own imaginations and the images of other artists. We may distinguish the results in different “types”. Note that in this case I’m using the word “type” to mean something akin to “class” or “kind” of image.
First among the types is the image of the resurrected Christ climbing out of the tomb. It seems to have been established fairly early in the history of western art, since it appears in one of Nicolas of Verdun’s most famous masterpieces, the 1181 Klosterneuburg Altarpiece. The altarpiece is made up of multiple enameled images, arranged into three horizontal tiers, showing Biblical scenes from the periods Before the Law (Genesis), Under the Law (Old Testament) and Under Grace (New Testament).
In this scene Christ is shown, climbing from the tomb, with His arms upraised in prayer to the Father. Blood spurts from the wound in His side. In front of the tomb are the figures of three guards. Two of them are shown huddled in terror, while the third shields his face with his left hand. Around the scene is a border with an inscription. Under the scene the inscription reads: Agnus Paschalis (Pascal Lamb), while around the scene are the words: Vitam dat tento triduo Pater in monumento (Given life by the Father after three days in the tomb). (The translations are mine.) Words are separated by black enameled dots (not to be confused with the small screws that hold the plates in the armature of the altarpiece.
This image was a popular one throughout the Middle Ages. Its basic elements remained pretty steady for several hundred years. Christ is shown emerging from the sarcophagus type tomb, while the guards cower around it. He may be shown with one foot on the edge of the tomb, ready to lift Himself out or He may have already fully extended one leg outside the tomb. He holds a cross or a banner with the cross inscribed on it, the sign of the way in which He won victory over death.
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Christ Climbing from the Tomb
from a Picture Bible
French (St. Omer, Abbey of St. Bertin), c. 1190-1200
The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek
MS KB 76 F5, fol. 21v
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| Christ Climbing from the Tomb and the Women at the Tomb from the Huntingfield Psalter English (Oxford), 1210-1220 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 43, fol. 23r |
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| Christ Climbing from the Tomb from a Psalter German (Upper Rhine), c. 1250-1300 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 284, fol. 8r |
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Christ Climbing from the Tomb
from Livre d'images de Madame Marie
Flemish (Hainaut), c. 1285-1290
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 16251, fol. 42
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| Christ Climbing from the Tomb Italian, c. 1286-1300 Torri in Sabina, Santa Maria in Vescovio |
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| Ugolino di Nerio, Christ Climbing from the Tomb Italian, c. 1325-1328 London, National Gallery |
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| Christ Climbing from the Tomb from Vies de saints French (Paris), c.1325-1350 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 185, fol. 3 |
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| Christ Climbing from the Tomb from a Psalter English (Salisbury), c. 1350-1375 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 765, fol. 18 |
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| Christ Climbing from the Tomb from Speculum humanae salvationis Italian (Bologna), c. 1350-1400 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Arsenal 593, fol. 26 |
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| Giovanni di Benedetto and Collaborators Christ Climbing from the Tomb from a Missal Italian (Milan), c. 1385-1390 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 757, fol. 325 |
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| Alabaster Carver, Christ Climbing from the Tomb English, ca. 1390-1400 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Alabaster Carver, Christ Climbing from the Tomb English, 15th Century Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art |
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| Alabaster Carver, Christ Climbing from the Tomb English, 15th Century Paris, Musée de Cluny, Musée national du Moyen Age |
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| Alabaster Carver, Christ Climbing from the Tomb English, ca. 1400-1420 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
The subject remained a popular one for manuscript and panel painters throughout the Gothic period.
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| Fastolf Master, Christ Climbing from the Tomb from Hours of William Porter French (Rouen), 1415-1430 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 103, fol. 20r |
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School of the Talbot Master, Christ Climbing from the Tomb
from Sept Articles de la foy by Jean de Meun
French (Rouen), c. 1440
London, British Library
MS Royal 19 A XXII, fol. 16
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| Meister Francke, Christ Climbing from the Tomb German, 1424-1435 Hamburg, Hamburger Kunsthalle This most unusual back view appears to be unique in the treatment of this subject. |
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| Dieric Bouts the Elder, Christ Climbing from the Tomb Dutch, 1450-1460 Pasadena, Norton Simon Museum of Art |
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| Christ Climbing from the Tomb German, c. 1450 Freiburg-im-Bresgau, Städtische Museen, Augustinermuseum |
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| Christ Climbing from the Tomb from a Book of Hours French (Paris), 1485-1496 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS H 3, fol. 199r
In the hands of a painter with lesser skills , the effect can be somewhat comical, as in this image, where the extended leg
of Christ seems pasted on in an awkward position.
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| Hans Memling, Christ Climbing from the Tomb from the Resurrection Triptych German, c. 1490 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
This "type" was also used by artists of the Renaissance period, especially in the earlier part of the period, during the fifteenth century, known as the Quattrocento.
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| Piero della Francesca, Christ Climbing from the Tomb Italian, 1463-1465 Sansepolcro, Pinacoteca Comunale |
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| Domenico Pagliarolo, Christ Climbing from the Tomb Single Leaf Cutting from an Antiphonary Italian (Bologna), c. 1475-1500 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 444 |
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| Antonio Maria da Villfora, Christ Climbing from the Tomb Italian (Padua), 1480-1519 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 1069, fol. 2 |
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| Ambrogio Bergognone Italian, c.1490 Washington, National Gallery of Art |
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| Michelangelo, The Resurrection Italian, c. 1520-1525 Windsor, Collection of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II |
This form of representing the subject appears to have gone out of favor with artists by the late sixteenth century, with one glorious exception. This is the central panel of a triptych by Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens combines the classic treatment of the subject with a new form of tomb, a cave-like opening, and with all the energy hinted at by Michelangelo.
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| Peter Paul Rubens, Resurrection (Central Panel) Flemish, c. 1611-1612 Antwerp, Cathedral of Our Lady |
Over time the level of energy represented in the scene increased. And this rising energy level points the way to the next two “types”.
- MacLagan, Eric. “An English Alabaster Altarpiece in the Victoria and Albert Museum.” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, vol. 36, no. 203, 1920, pp. 53–65. See also: Hildburgh, W. L. “Seven Medieval English Alabaster Carvings in the Walters Art Gallery.” The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, vol. 17, 1954, pp. 18–33.
© M. Duffy, 2011, revised 2017