The Crucifixion with the Converted Centurion

Artist: Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, 1472–1553)

1538

European Art

On view, 2nd floor, European Art

Created in the orbit of the Protestant reformer Martin Luther, this painting represents an episode from the Bible: as Christ utters His final words (“Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit”), a Roman centurion experiences a religious conversion, recognizing that “Truly this man was the Son of God.” Both phrases are inscribed here in German, rather than in the traditional Latin. The date of the painting and the winged serpent, Cranach’s characteristic signature, are visible in the lower right. The coat of arms, however, has not been positively identified.

Medium

Oil on panel

Dimensions

unframed: 24 1/4 × 16 5/8 in. (61.6 × 42.2 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Hannah D. and Louis M. Rabinowitz

Accession Number

1959.15.23

Culture

German

Period

16th century

Classification

Paintings

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Possibly Count Johann Nepomuk Wilczek (1837–1922), Burg Kreuzenstein, Leobendorf, Austria. E. & A. Silberman Galleries, New York by 1936. Hannah D. and Louis M. Rabinowitz (1887–1957), Sands Point, Long Island, 1940–1945; given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 1959
Bibliography
  • Susan B. Matheson, Art for Yale: A History of the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2001), 134, 136, 156, fig. 133
  • Elise K. Kenney, ed., Handbook of the Collections: Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1992), 139
  • Andrew Carnduff Ritchie and Katherine Neilson, Selected Paintings and Sculpture from the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1972), no. 6
  • Charles Seymour, Jr., The Rabinowitz Collection of European Paintings (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1961), 40
  • Charles Seymour, Jr., "Louis Mayer Rabinowitz," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (September 1957), 12
  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection: Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1951–1956 (Washington D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1956), 60
  • Pictures Collected by Yale Alumni: Exhibition May 8 to June 18, 1956, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1956), no. 4
  • Louis M. Rabinowitz, Rabinowitz Collection (New York: The Twin Editions, 1945), 65-66, pl. 30
  • Alfred M. Frankfurter, "Masterpieces in the Art Market: Crucifixion with the faithful centurion," Art News (1936), 17, illus. P. 13
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

Subject

Inscriptions

[top] "VATER IN DEIN HENDT BEFIEL ICH MEIN GAIST" (Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit)
[center] "WARLICH DIESER MENSCH IST GOTTES SVN GEWEST" (Truly this man was the Son of God)

Signed

[LR] monogram with "1538"

Technical metadata and APIs

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