Bartholomäus Bruyn the Elder attributed to the undressing and crowning of Christ on wood, parquetted; framed
68,5 x 46 cm
Monogrammed in Ligatur lower right: HB before 1950 by Albert Ferenz, painter and restorer in Graz and Munich, acquired; Private property, Austria
While in the Netherlands technical innovations enabled painting to turn to the coloured appearance of nature with new devotion, and a fresh interest in reality moved the artists to fill every object with immediate liveliness, Cologne painting has long remained committed to an ideal of supernatural beauty. It sought to express an internal, contemplative religiosity.In this field of tension stands the work of Bartholomew Bruyn the Elder (1493-1555). His art combines Cologne's pictorial tradition with a Dutch sense of reality, which is reflected among other things in the careful nature observation of the landscape. The painter also showed particular interest in the depiction of passion and pain, which emotionally grabs the viewer and captivates his imagination.
The present table shows the undressing and the thorn crowning of Christ. The scene is developed as a dense figure picture: the naked Christ, turned into himself, is surrounded by three tormentors, whose powerful bodies and vivid gestures are confronted with the silent pain of the depicted. The bright colours of the robes are effectively separated from the dark coat and the cool blue of the wide, atmospherically represented landscape. In the plastic body formation and the dramatic staging, the influence of Italian painting, which characterizes Bruyn's later work, is shown. With the combination of penetrating passion, Dutch-trained nature observation and Italian formal language, the board combines those currents that characterize the artist's work.

>Attributed to Bartholomäus Bruyn the Elderly The Stripping and the Crowning with Thorns of Christ formerly in Count Attems suchs art collection in Graz (attributed to Jan Sanders van Hemessen); acquired before 1950 by Albert Ferenz, pastor and restorer in Graz and Munich; private collection, Munich; private property, Austria

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