Christ at the Column

1754

Franz Ignaz Günther German, 1725-1775

On View

European: Medieval and Renaissance, Level 2, West Wing

Christ at the Column: 1 of Collection Gallery

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Provenance

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

Günther was the greatest sculptor in eighteenth-century Bavaria. This figure is impressive for its spiritual expression, lifelike movement, and smoothly painted pearlescent surface. The faceted planes of the drapery reflect a flickering pattern of light across the surface, further animating the figure. Günther's sensitive modeling is especially evident in Christ's face. Painted on the underside of the base in sepia are Günther’s initials and date: "1754:F:l:G:," indicating that it was made the year Günther was appointed court sculptor to the Bavarian Electorate.
This piece is a variant of a German sculpture of the scourged Christ, believed to shed real tears. The miraculous image became the object of a flourishing pilgrimage to the Wieskirche in Bavaria and was copied in engravings and sculpture. Günther’s version reinterprets the model with a feeling of exaltation and passion.

Title Christ at the Column

Artwork Date 1754

Artist Franz Ignaz Günther

Life Dates 1725-1775

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. German

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Lindenwood with polychrome decoration

Dimensions Overall: 29 1/4 × 17 1/4 × 7 1/2 inches (74.3 × 43.8 × 19.1 cm) Mount: 1 1/4 × 12 × 8 inches (3.2 × 30.5 × 20.3 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department European Sculpture and Dec Arts

Credit Founders Society Purchase, Acquisitions Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 1983.13

Markings

Signed Signed and dated, underside of base: 1754:/F:I:G:

Inscriptions Inscribed, underside of base, in purple ink: EX VOTO 1947 Josef Bodenthaler Pf. \.! B \.. .! [See artist file, Registrar's office for replication; Pf. may stand for Pfarrer or Pfarrei, meaning "priest" or "church community"]

Marks Marked, paper found between earth mound and base: VERFERTIGET IN MUNCHEN DEN 14 SEPT. 1754 [translated: Made in Munich September 14, 1754] [believed to be in Gunther's hand; lost in shipment but recorded in photographs]

Provenance

1952-1982, Bavarian private collection (Bavaria, Germany);
1982, (Margret Biedermann, Munich, Germany);
1982-1983, (Eugene V. Thaw, New York, New York, USA);
1983-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Decker, H. "Ein unbekanntes Frühwerk Ignaz Günthers," Die Kunst und das Schöne Heimat 53 (June 1955): pp. 332-333 (ill.).

Woeckel, G. P. "Christusdarstellungen von Ignaz Günther," Das Münster 20 (1967): p. 378-380; p. 377, (fig. 24) (ill.).

Woeckel, G. P. Franz Ignaz Günther. Der grosse Bildhauer des bayerischen Rokoko. Regensburg, 1977, p. 35, 61, (fig. 31-32) (ill.).

Vom Zeichentisch eines Rokokobildhauers. Exh., Stadtmuseum. Munich, 1975 [no cat].

Gedenkfeier der Gemeinde Altmannstein, Frans Ignaz Gunther. Exh. cat., Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. Munich, June 22-29, 1975.

Bulletin of the DIA 61, no. 3 (1982/83): p. 15 (ill.).

"Consolidated Audited Annual Report," Artemis 82-83 (October 28 1983): p. 19, no. 6 (ill.).

Meisterwerke bei S. Mehringer. Bedeutende Skulpturen und Gemälde. S. Mehringer Gallery. Munich, 1985, p. 7, (fig. 4) (ill.) [entry by G. P. Woeckel]

100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. DIA. New York, 1985, p. 148; p. 149 (ill.).

Sculpture Review 35, no. 4 (Winter 1986-1987): p. 8, (col. pl.)

Volk, P. "Franz Ignaz Günther's Christ at the Column," Bulletin of the DIA 63, no. 3/4 (1988): pp. 4-13, (col. ill.) p. 4, detail p. 5 (cover ill.).

Darr, A. P. and C. Faltermeier. "Günther's Christ at the Column: Notes on Condition and Conservation," Bulletin of the DIA 63, no. 3/4 (1988): pp. 14-15.

Darr, A. P. "European sculpture and decorative arts acquired by the Detroit Institute of Arts 1978-87," The Burlington Magazine 130 (June 1988): p. 498, (fig. 109) (ill.).

Volk, P. Ignaz Günther. Vollendung des Rokoko. Regensburg, 1991, p. 50-51 (ill.).

Volk, P. "Kruzifixe von Ignaz Günther," Zeitschrift des deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft 61 (2007): p. 82; p. 83, (fig. 1) (ill.).

Syson, Luke, Sheena Wagstaff, Emerson Bowyer, and Brinda Kumar. Like Life: Sculpture, Color, and the Body. Exh. cat., Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, pp. 25, 212-213, 239 (fig. 99).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Franz Ignaz Günther, Christ at the Column, 1754, lindenwood with polychrome decoration. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Acquisitions Fund, 1983.13.