The Ascension of Christ

Hans Süss von Kulmbach

1513 · Oil on fir · European Paintings

This Ascension of Christ into heaven is emphasized by depicting him as leaving the pictorial space. Only his feet and lower legs, engulfed by clouds, appear at the top, while on the ground the twelve apostles and the Virgin Mary witness his departure. Kulmbach, who trained with Albrecht Dürer, adapted the composition from a woodcut by his teacher. This painting and eight others (now dispersed among various museums) once comprised the wings and base (predella) of an altarpiece devoted to the life of the Virgin, with a sculpture of her coronation as its centerpiece.

Artist

Hans Süss von Kulmbach

Date

1513

Medium

Oil on fir

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1921