Climbing Man with Outstretched Arms

This drawing and two additional figure studies adorn the family Bible that once belonged to the silk embroiderer Hans Plock, although it was not until 1952 that they were identified as the work of Grünewald. Plock, who like Grünewald worked for a long period in the service of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, used his friend’s drawings to ornament his private family Bible. This entailed cutting out the figures, partially hand-colouring, and furnishing them with self-penned texts and commentaries. However, it remains unclear (and a subject of ongoing academic debate) as to whether Plock’s selection of texts bears any relationship to the iconographical significance of Grünewald’s figure studies. Consequently, ever since the studies first came to light, researchers have sought to gain a closer understanding of their original iconographical interrelationships. Walter Stengel identified a connection between the studies and The Transfiguration of Christ at Mount Tabor at the Dominikanerkirche in Frankfurt, the two preliminary drawings for which (held at the Kupferstich-Kabinett in Dresden) are characterized by a closely related style.Text: Michael Roth