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Lot Essay
The picture is closely based on Albrecht Dürer's woodcut, Christ being nailed to the cross, from the Small Passion series, first published in 1509. There are numerous differences from the print; most notably the inclusion of an Alpine landscape in the background and the addition of a fourth rather idiosyncratic soldier on the left edge of the panel.
Hans Leu was one of the most important Swiss artists of the period. Born in Zurich, he is recorded as being in Nuremburg, working in the studio of Albrecht Dürer by 1510. From the style of his drawings it has been suggested that he also worked with Hans Baldung in Freiburg, before returning to Zurich in 1514. Due to a lack of commissions he served as a mercenary in the Duke of Württemberg's Italian campaigns of 1515 and 1519, although Dürer attested (1523) to having met Leu in Zurich in 1519. He was stabbed to death during a skirmish between religious factions in Zurich on 24 October 1531.
His technique in pen drawing is reminiscent of Albrecht Altdorfer, although his exact connection to the leading representative of the Danube school, remains unclear. While the influence of Albrecht Dürer's woodcuts can be seen in Leu's individual figural motifs, his landscapes, like the present panel and the Saint Jerome and Orpheus, both in the Kunstmuseum, Basel, recall types more typical of the Danube school.
We are grateful to Ludwig Meyer for suggesting the attribution on the basis of a transparency.
Hans Leu was one of the most important Swiss artists of the period. Born in Zurich, he is recorded as being in Nuremburg, working in the studio of Albrecht Dürer by 1510. From the style of his drawings it has been suggested that he also worked with Hans Baldung in Freiburg, before returning to Zurich in 1514. Due to a lack of commissions he served as a mercenary in the Duke of Württemberg's Italian campaigns of 1515 and 1519, although Dürer attested (1523) to having met Leu in Zurich in 1519. He was stabbed to death during a skirmish between religious factions in Zurich on 24 October 1531.
His technique in pen drawing is reminiscent of Albrecht Altdorfer, although his exact connection to the leading representative of the Danube school, remains unclear. While the influence of Albrecht Dürer's woodcuts can be seen in Leu's individual figural motifs, his landscapes, like the present panel and the Saint Jerome and Orpheus, both in the Kunstmuseum, Basel, recall types more typical of the Danube school.
We are grateful to Ludwig Meyer for suggesting the attribution on the basis of a transparency.