Christ as a mediator

Painted in 1515, this small panel shows Christ kneeling to plead with God the Father on behalf of humankind. It is the old idea of Christ as intercessor, the one who steps between the sinner and judgement. It is one of Ambrosius Holbein's first independent works, done soon after he began painting on his own. The timing is worth holding in mind. Within about a decade Basel would go over to the Reformation, and images of saints and intercession like this one would be argued over and, in many churches, taken down and destroyed. This is a devotional picture from the last years before that turn, made for private prayer rather than a public altar, barely 40 centimetres tall. The two figures fill almost the whole field, close and quiet, with nothing to distract from the exchange between them.