Scene from Ars Moriendi: The Art of Dying

School of the Upper Rhine, artist

Scene from Ars Moriendi: The Art of Dying, late 1400s

Where object was made: Rhine River Valley region, present-day Switzerland, France, and Germany

Material/technique: oil; panel

Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 30.5 x 24.8 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 12 x 9 3/4 in

Credit line: Museum purchase

Accession number: 1959.0041

Not on display

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Images

Label texts

This image depicts the administration of the Eucharist, possibly of the Last Rites, to an emaciated, bedridden man. He is attended by a Dominican nun, and a priest whose head is ensconced in a golden halo. The strangely lifelike crucifix held by the nun, the haloed dove, and the figure of God the Father peering down from the panel’s upper left corner allude to the presence of the Trinity. This image is closely related to popular late-medieval texts on the Ars Moriendi, or Art of Dying, which instructed the pious on how to meet death with grace and dignity informed by devotion. By the late-15th century, these texts were often accompanied by printed illustrations, which served to transmit imagery associated with death and the Last Rites.

Exhibition Label:
"Corpus," Apr-2012, Kris Ercums
This image depicts the administration of the Eucharist, possibly of the Last Rites, to an emaciated, bedridden man. He is attended by a Dominican nun, and a priest whose head is ensconced in a golden halo. The strangely lifelike crucifix held by the nun, the haloed dove, and the figure of God the Father peering down from the panel’s upper left corner allude to the presence of the Trinity. This image is closely related to popular late-medieval texts on the Ars Moriendi, or Art of Dying, which instructed the pious on how to meet death with grace and dignity informed by devotion. By the late-15th century, these texts were often accompanied by printed illustrations, which served to transmit imagery associated with death and the Last Rites.