Lot Essay
The sepia sketch is probably the final preparatory study for Christus am Ölberg in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg. The theme for the commission was probably chosen due to its location in a hospital. Overbeck had not previously treated this subject, although the composition derives from the fresco, The Archangel Gabriel invites Gottfried of Bouillon to liberate Jerusalem (see Fig. i), from the Tasso room in the Casino Massimo, Rome, commissioned by Marchese Carlo Massimo, in January 1817. The inspiration for both compositions is German, traceable to the four versions of the theme, engraved by Albrecht Dürer, the first artist to popularise the subject.
The commission was one of the earliest examples of patronage for contemporary art in Hamburg. It arose from the destruction of the old 'Pesthof' and the creation of a new hospital in its place. The Betsaal, a prayer room for 300 people, was officially opened in 1824, and in 1825 Overbeck was appointed to produce a painting for it. The Senate feared the public's reaction to the dispersal of funds for the room's decoration and, thus, Hamburg's Art Society was forced to raise the necessary amount through subscription. Subsequently, Overbeck received the commission through the artist, Carl Friedrich von Rumohr, a member of the committee overseeing the project.
Overbeck was probably careful not to show a preparatory sketch or modello to the committee, which would have limited his artistic freedom. It was only in the spring of 1830 that Rumohr was able to inform the society of the artist's intention to begin the final composition, due to illness the previous year and may date our picture to late 1829/early 1830. It has also been suggested that our sepia sketch is a later replica of the Hamburg work, commissioned by M. J. Rhodes in 1851. Although completed on 14 December 1833, it only arrived at the Bhospital on 28 May, 1834 with further delay due to the room's restructuring to accommodate the work. The Senate, however, proceeded with the painting's exhibition in the City Hall. The public's positive reaction to the picture resulted in a further successful collection of funds, from which the artist received an additional monetary gift. The painting was finally placed in the Betsaal in December 1834. One written account in'Kunstwerke und Künstler in England und Paris', part 1, of 1837, G. F. Waagen praised the picture as the most important painting in the city's collection.
In 1942, it was transferred from the hospital to the Kunsthalle's airshelter and was donated to the Museum in 1956.
The commission was one of the earliest examples of patronage for contemporary art in Hamburg. It arose from the destruction of the old 'Pesthof' and the creation of a new hospital in its place. The Betsaal, a prayer room for 300 people, was officially opened in 1824, and in 1825 Overbeck was appointed to produce a painting for it. The Senate feared the public's reaction to the dispersal of funds for the room's decoration and, thus, Hamburg's Art Society was forced to raise the necessary amount through subscription. Subsequently, Overbeck received the commission through the artist, Carl Friedrich von Rumohr, a member of the committee overseeing the project.
Overbeck was probably careful not to show a preparatory sketch or modello to the committee, which would have limited his artistic freedom. It was only in the spring of 1830 that Rumohr was able to inform the society of the artist's intention to begin the final composition, due to illness the previous year and may date our picture to late 1829/early 1830. It has also been suggested that our sepia sketch is a later replica of the Hamburg work, commissioned by M. J. Rhodes in 1851. Although completed on 14 December 1833, it only arrived at the Bhospital on 28 May, 1834 with further delay due to the room's restructuring to accommodate the work. The Senate, however, proceeded with the painting's exhibition in the City Hall. The public's positive reaction to the picture resulted in a further successful collection of funds, from which the artist received an additional monetary gift. The painting was finally placed in the Betsaal in December 1834. One written account in'Kunstwerke und Künstler in England und Paris', part 1, of 1837, G. F. Waagen praised the picture as the most important painting in the city's collection.
In 1942, it was transferred from the hospital to the Kunsthalle's airshelter and was donated to the Museum in 1956.