Christ on the Cross Between the Two Thieves

Audio transcription

From an interview with Gregor Meyer, artistic assistant of the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, spoken by Andrew Redmond, bass in the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

This painting is quite ambivalent. Arguably for Christians, crucifixion is not an end or a low point, but a beginning for that which is about to happen and literally take its path, as you can see in this painting. There´s a parallel to Antonio Lotti’s “Crucifixus” in several aspects: His Credo is for four voices. Only this one movement is developed into eight voices.

 Lotti seems to have seen great importance in depicting the death at the cross, although interestingly this painting is not listed as “Dead Christ” but as “crucifixion”. He wants to depict crucifixion as the center of Christian belief.

[Music.]

Audio transcription

From an interview with Stephan Kemperdick, curator of the Gemäldegalerie, spoken by Andrew Redmond, bass in the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

Christ still hangs at the cross with the two thieves at his sides and he is already dead. Two men get ready to take him down. They put a ladder to the cross. This is not the crucifixion anymore, and the sky is absolutely dramatic. Not only these thick and heavy clouds, but also this strange light, perhaps the sunlight with some rays reaching through the clouds. And this relates to what we know from the gospel: as the sky darkened when Christ died. And in the temple, seen here in the back, the curtain ripped. And this incredibly long ladder that they’re putting to the cross, this incredibly high cross are really unusual. Jesus must be hanging four meters high, he’s almost in heaven, in this dramatically darkened sky, very far away from earth, so they need this incredibly long ladder, which they position very close to this slope.

Audio transcription

From an interview with Stephan Kemperdick, curator of the Gemäldegalerie, spoken by Andrew Redmond, bass in the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

And then there is this other man, whose significance is quite unclear. He’s not an Evangelist, gauging from his clothes. But he’s got no shoes and the way he stands there makes it seem that he came from the town towards them. You can tell from the constellation. It doesn’t look like he’s been there with the group of Christ’s friends. He stands there and gestures, perhaps in pain or in offering something. It might be Joseph of Arimathea who offers his tomb. He’s a rich man who owns a rock tomb and he might be offering to entomb Jesus there. That’s what Bach suggests somewhere in his Passion.