Plaque Depicting the Man of Sorrows with the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist

In this devotional reverse-painted glass (verre églomisé) plaque, Christ appears as the Man of Sorrows. This image first reached Europe through a Byzantine micromosaic icon found in the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome, and further rose to prominence in the sixteenth century in its appearance in a miraculous Mass performed by Saint Gregory. In this iconography, Christ oscillates between death and life. He appears removed from the cross and seated on his tombl His wounded arms are held up by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist, whose pained expressions mirror each other, their gaze drawing the viewer’s eyes to Christ’s wounds. Such an object might have been used for private prayer and meditation on the Passion.

In the verre églomisé technique, the artist would begin by sketching the foreground, outlined in black, on the back of the pane of glass, adding depth and texture through hatching, shading and polychromy; after this, the artist would add the blue sky and clouds. Lastly, the halos of Christ and the angels and the numinous light of the cross were rendered in gold leaf. The verre églomisé technique thus required the reversal of a painter’s usual practice, as highlights in the foreground needed to be added before figures and the background, requiring the artist to keep the finished image in their mind while applying each layer.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

F. Ongania, Venice, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.