Detail of Christ as the Man of Sorrows by an Unidentified Alsatian Artist in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, June 2010

Christ as the Man of Sorrows
about 1470
Unidentified artist, Alsatian, 2nd half 15th century

Dimensions: 69.2 x 39.4 cm (27 1/4 x 15 1/2 in.)

Medium or Technique: Oil on panel

Classification: Paintings
Type: Religious - Saints

Accession Number: 56.262

This painting embodies the entirety of Christ's suffering in a single, solemn image. In the universal gesture of sorrow -- holding his head in his hands -- Christ sits among the instruments used to torture and kill him. Such emotionally charged imagery was particularly common in Germany during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. In an act of devotion, private contemplation of these subjects allowed viewers to identify with Christ's suffering.

Text from: www.mfa.org/collections/object/christ-as-the-man-of-sorro...