Christ Stripped of His Garments for the Crucifixion

Sigmund Holbein was the younger brother of the famous Hans Holbein the Elder, whose very productive workshop he joined probably towards the turn of the century. He took charge of it and ultimately established himself in Bern. His work is stylistically close to that of his brother, although in a less sophisticated vernacular and featuring greater directness. He was influenced by the earlier art of Van der Weyden and Memling, but also the crisper and more overtly Gothic forms and brilliant colouring of the school of Cologne. Both of the Museum’s panels present scenes of the Raising of the Cross in the background, and the original altarpiece to which they belonged probably had as a central grouping a Crucifixion.