Christ Entering Jerusalem on the Back of a Donkey

between 1480 and 1490

Christof Langeisen German, active 1509 - 1517

On View

European: Medieval and Renaissance, Level 2, West Wing

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About the Artwork

Beginning as early as the tenth century, sculptures depicting Jesus on the back of a donkey were carried or rolled through towns across German-speaking lands in a reenactment of his entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before Easter, known as Palm Sunday. Their use on this holy day lent the objects their German name: Palmesel, or Palm Donkey. Many medieval Palmesel remain in alpine regions today, where the tradition survives, offering a chance for worshippers to imagine themselves within the biblical story. This is a rare example in a North American museum collection.

This Palmesel looks a bit worn. Its ears and the wheels that would have carried it are missing, along with one of Jesus’s feet. The touches of many hands have smoothed the donkey’s rump. Wormholes are visible across Jesus’s face, where insects bored into the wood beneath the layers of colorful paint that once enlivened the figure. Fragments of metal at the sides of his head allude to a now-lost metal halo that shone in the sun during outdoor processions. These losses and signs of wear are valuable reminders of the vital role it once played within a religious community.

Title Christ Entering Jerusalem on the Back of a Donkey

Artwork Date between 1480 and 1490

Artist Christof Langeisen

Life Dates active 1509 - 1517

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, polychrome pigment

Dimensions Overall: 56 1/2 × 16 × 43 1/2 inches (143.5 × 40.6 × 110.5 cm) Overall (depth through figure's elbows): 16 inches (40.6 cm) Overall: 12 × 35 1/2 inches (30.5 × 90.2 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department European Sculpture and Dec Arts

Credit Gift of Lillian Henkel Haass

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. 57.97

Markings

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Provenance

(Henri Daguerre, Paris, France);
(Joseph Brummer, New York, New York, USA);
Lillian Henkel Haass (Detroit, MIchigan, USA);
1957-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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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

Richardson, E.P. "Three Late Gothic Wood Sculptures." Art Quarterly 3, no. 4 (1940): pp. 343- 347; p. 343 (fig. 4); p. 344 (fig. 5).

Corgan, C. "A Late Gothic Palmesel." Bulletin of the DIA 37, no. 3 (1957-58): pp. 66-67; p. 66 (ill.).

Lipsmeyer, E. "Palmsonntag-Christus und Palmesel." Volkskunst. Zeitschrift für volkstümliche Sachkultur 12, no. 1 (February 1989): p. 50; p. 52 (fig. 5).

Gillerman, D., ed. Gothic Sculpture in America. Vol. II. The Museums of the Midwest. Turnhout, 2001, pp. 155-157, no. 118; p. 156 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Christof Langeisen, Christ Entering Jerusalem on the Back of a Donkey, between 1480 and 1490, lindenwood, polychrome pigment. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Lillian Henkel Haass, 57.97.