Virtuosity for Connoisseurs: The First Small Crucifix by Veit Stoss Resurfaces

Abstract

A sixteenth-century source documents that Veit Stoss, arguably the leading German sculptor in the years around 1500, created small-scale crucifixes for connoisseurs. A few small sculptures of other subjects by Stoss were known for some time, but not a single crucifix. The first such work resurfaced only in 2011. It has now been acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum. This article aims to situate the work relative to six large crucifixes Stoss created during the years he worked in Kraków (1477–96), then the capital of Poland, and in Nuremberg, the big economic hub of southern Germany where he worked for over three decades. Among the works discussed is another crucifix barely known until today, but preserved in the small church of Iwanowice, near Kraków. Like other crucifixes by Stoss, the new acquisition is distinguished by the artist’s sublime knowledge of anatomy, most likely based on personal anatomical studies.