Crucifixion of Christ

For nearly four centuries this panel hung under the wrong name. The monogram in the corner read as the letters M and R, which matched no known painter, so the picture was filed simply as 16th-century German. In 1936 a closer look showed the mark had been altered. Under the paint the original letters were H and K, for Hans von Kulmbach, who had signed it around 1512. Christ hangs high on the cross, set at an angle against a pale sky, his face turned down toward Mary, John and Mary Magdalene kneeling at the foot. Off to the right, much smaller, the man who paid for the panel kneels in full armour beside his wife and their child, hands pressed together. Behind them the land opens out, a castle and blue mountains dissolving into haze.