The Dead Christ on the Cross

Artist Philippe de Champaigne (French, 1602-1674)

Place of OriginFrance

Datec. 1654

DimensionsPainting (H x W): 37 × 27 9/16 in. (94 × 70 cm)
Frame (H x W x D): 44 1/2 × 35 1/4 × 2 1/2 in. (113 × 89.5 × 6.4 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

2020.5

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 24

Label TextThough it appears to be a finished work of art, this canvas nonetheless is thought be the modello (working sketch) for Philippe de Champaigne’s large altarpiece commissioned for the main altar of the church at the Grande Chartreuse, the head monastery of the Carthusian religious order located north of Grenoble, France. The altarpiece painting today is in the museum in that city. Monumental in conception and characterized by a piety and austerity appropriate for its patrons, Champaigne’s profound The Dead Christ on the Cross depicts a specific moment noted in the Gospel According to John (19:30): “he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”Published ReferencesDorival, Bernard, Supplement au catalogue raisonne de Philippe de Champaigne, Paris, 1992, pp. 30-31, repr. (col.) 19bis.

Trafalgar Galleries, Trafalgar Galleries XII, London, Trafalgar Galleries, 1993, pp. 32-35, repr. (col.).

de Maere, Jan and M. Wabbes, Illustrated Dictionary of 17th Century Flemish Painters, Paris, La Renaissance du Livre, 1994, p. 243, repr.

Chomer, Gilles, Peintures francaises avant 1815, La Collection du Musée de Grenoble, Paris, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2000, repr. fig. 1, p. 66.

Pericolo, Lorenzo, Philippe de Champaigne, "Philippe, homme sage et vertueux": essai sur l'art et l'oeuvre de Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674), Brussels, 2002, p. 268 (cited in note 20).

Philippe de Champaigne, 1602-1674: Entre politique e devotion, Paris, Reunion Des Musee Nationaux, 2007, exhibition catalogue, pp. 244-245, no. 71, repr. (col.) p. 246.

Exhibition HistoryPalais des Beaux-Arts, Lille; Musee Rath, Geneva, Philippe de Champaigne 'Entre politique e devotion', September 20, 2007-January 13, 2018, no. 71.