Christ in Limbo
Hans Mielich·c. 1550/1575
Historical Context
This Christ in Limbo by the Mielich workshop, a companion to the Crucifixion, depicts Christ's descent to free the righteous who died before his coming — a subject known as the Harrowing of Hell. The theme was especially important in Catholic theology as it affirmed Christ's universal redemptive mission. Together with the Crucifixion, this panel likely formed part of a Passion cycle for a Bavarian church or chapel.
Technical Analysis
The oil on panel renders the dramatic subject with the precise technique and bright, clear colors characteristic of the Mielich workshop. The composition manages the crowd of souls emerging from Limbo with organized clarity, maintaining the narrative legibility valued in Counter-Reformation religious art.
Provenance
Possibly a museum in Breslau (now Wroclaw).[1] (Charles de Burlet, Berlin, 1916.); Dr. Otto Fröhlich, Vienna, 1916;[2] sold to Stefan Auspitz [1869-1945], Vienna, until 1931.[3] (Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc., New York, owned jointly with Pinakos, Inc. [Rudolf Heinemann], by 1951);[4] purchased 1951 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[5] gift 1952 by exchange to NGA. [1] Unverified. There are no records of the paintings having been in the Muzeum Narodowe, letter of 11 April 1989 from Mariusz Hermansdorfer to John Hand, in NGA curatorial files, or the Muzeum Archidiecezjalne, letter of 25 June 1989 from Józef Pater to John Hand, in NGA curatorial files. [2] Memorandum of a communication from Lilly Fröhlich, London, 1956, in NGA curatorial files, which states that Otto Fröhlich acquired the paintings in 1916 from an unspecified museum in Breslau through de Burlet and sold them to Stefan von Auspitz. [3]Stefan Auspitz was a Viennese banker who was forced by the Austrian financial crisis of 1931 to forfeit most of his collection to creditors of the Austrian government, by whom it was sold to the Dutch collector van Beuningen, who consigned the works for sale over a period of time through the Bachstitz gallery. This painting and its companion, 1952.5.84, do not appear to have been part of those transactions. Instead they were held as security at the firm of Fa. Bäume in Vienna. [4] Letter of 13 April 1989 from Gerald G. Stiebel to John Hand, in NGA curatorial files. The invoice is dated 23 October 1951. [5] See The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/520.
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