Germanic school. Alsace or Swabia, ca. 1500.

Germanic school. Alsace or Swabia, ca. 1500.
"Christ on the Mount of Olives".
Relief.
Carved, gilded and polychrome wood.
Measurements: 78 x 57 x 8 cm.

Bas-relief of Germanic school, of great quality, belonging to a period of transition between the Gothic and the Renaissance. Christ, kneeling and looking at the sky in a silent dialogue with God, joins his hands in an attitude of supplication and prayer. Beside him, on a smaller scale to reinforce the sense of depth and perspective, two apostles sleep. They are lying on top of each other, emphasizing the idea of abandonment in contrast to Christ's vigil. The Mount of Olives is indicated by the carved bushes with a detailed and textured treatment. The coexistence of late Gothic elements is evident in the hierarchy of the characters through size, when perspective was still symbolic rather than mathematical. Also the expressive overdimension of the hands and the imploring face are Gothic solutions. However, naturalism gains ground, both in the description of the bearded features and in the play of drapery and in the details of the vegetation. The expression of the face is intense but restrained, avoiding dramatism. In devotional art, the emotions sought to move the viewer, but respecting a harmonious composition. Swabia (now southern Germany) and Alsace (bordering France) were key centers of religious wood carving. Artists such as Tilman Riemenschneider or Hans Multscher worked along the lines of a Gothic style that, although detailed and expressive, began to show more naturalistic influences. The altars and altarpieces of the region often included narrative scenes in relief, such as the one shown here, with great work on the details of clothing, hair and facial expressions.
This representation is very similar to Martin Schongauer's engraving, Christ on the Mount of Olives, from around 1480. One can recognize the same attitude of Christ kneeling, with his head raised and hands in prayer.