Man of Sorrows

The portrayal of a solitary Christ, suffering alone at some moment after the flagellation but before the crucifixion, is not based on the accounts of the Passion given in the Gospels, but draws instead on medieval iconographic tradition. In accordance with the division of human history into the time before, during and after Christ’s ministry on earth, themes from the Old and New Testaments were matched with one another. The Old Testament counterpart of Christ as the Man of Sorrows was Job pictured on a dunghill. Hans Leinberger, who was doubtless familiar with Italian Renaissance works, has given the son of God, incarnate in human form, an athletic build, which only serves to emphasize the massive burden of suffering that Jesus has taken upon himself.