The Crucifixion

Matyáš Bernard Braun

Matyáš Bernard Braun - The Crucifixion
This monumental carving represents the type of the Crucified with the horizontal position of the arms and the head inclining to the right shoulder. Matthias Braun enriched the ancient scheme by naturalistically treated parts of the massively protruding breast, hollowed abdomen and veinous lower limbs. Similar versions can be recognized in the master’s carvings of The Crucifixion from Lysá nad Labem, Kuks, Jemniště, Valkeřice, and the monastery in Plasy. The original situation of our work is clarified in the description of the Cistercian Monastery in Plasy (1744), which mentioned the decoration of the monastic refectories with two carvings of the Crucified, commissioned by the Abbot Eugen Tyttl. Whereas the smaller-size Christ (Regional Museum in Pilsen) was probably designed for the winter refectory, the exhibited large Crucifix was intended for the summer refectory. The same source confirms Braun’s direct authorship and the payment of 230 florins he received for it. After the monastery in Plasy was abolished (1782), the last Abbot Celestin Werner donated the monumental carving to the parish church in Horní Slavkov.
date:
measurements: height 306 cm
width 250 cm
material: limewood
technique: later polychromy
inventory number: P 8961
gallery collection: Collection of Old Masters

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