Albrecht Dürer
 1471-1528

"Head of the Dead Christ" a drawing - Around AD 1503


This dramatic drawing of the dead Christ is made in charcoal. Christ's head is tilted back, his eyes are closed and his mouth open wide. One half of his face lies in shadow, the soft charcoal rubbed carefully into the paper. Above, the Crown of Thorns ferociously pierces his forehead. The long spikes of the thorns contrast strongly with the long curls of his hair which trail, limply down his shoulder. The small, loose curls of his beard stand out against the white of the paper. The strong neck is deeply shadowed. However, the line of the shoulders is barely indicated.

The text, written by the artist, records that the artist made 'two faces' when he was ill in that year. This drawing may be a companion to another in The British Museum which shows a suffering man. The two drawings of male suffering may reflect the artist's state of mind during his own illness.

Although a work of art in its own right, this drawing may have been made in connection with a print or painting. However, no such finished work is known.

Further Reading/Sources:
PD SL 5218-29 Department of Prints and Drawings, German Roy XVIc

J. Rowlands and G. Bartrum, Drawings by German artists in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, 2 vols. (London, The British Museum Press, 1993), p. 73, no. 154, plate 101

J. Rowlands with G. Bartrum, The age of Dürer and Holbein: German drawings 1400-1550 (London, The British Museum Press, 1988), pp. 75, 78, no. 50

E. Panofsky, Life and art of Albrecht Dürer, 4th ed. (Princeton University Press, 1955)

J.C. Hutchison, Albrecht Dürer: a biography (Princeton University Press, 1990)