Artwork
Resurrection of Christ
Resurrection of Christ is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Altdorfer. It dates from 1518 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The scene is set within a rocky landscape at dawn, with a radiant burst of light around Christ’s body suggesting divine presence.
The work depicts the Resurrection of Jesus, showing Christ emerging from the tomb with a white banner bearing a red cross, a traditional symbol of victory over death. The scene is set within a rocky landscape at dawn, with a radiant burst of light around Christ’s body suggesting divine presence.
Altdorfer’s composition emphasizes resurrection as a moment of spiritual triumph, using the stark contrast of the figure against the dark tomb and the rising glow to underscore the transformation from death to life. The banner of the Resurrection, a key iconographic element, signals Christ’s triumph over sin and mortality, reinforcing the theological meaning of Easter victory.
Technique & Style
The Resurrection of Christ is an oil painting executed on wooden panel in 1518. It measures 70.5 cm in height and 37 cm in width, depicting the risen Jesus Christ in a religious composition. The work is created using oil paint as the medium and was handled as a panel painting within the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
The formal qualities reflect early 16th-century German religious art, with stylistic elements characteristic of Albrecht Altdorfer’s approach to religious narrative. The depiction of the Resurrection emphasizes theological significance through compositional focus on the risen Christ, rendered in oil on panel with attention to devotional detail appropriate to the period’s sacred imagery.
History & Provenance
Earliest secure record locates the panel in the imperial collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna by 1783, when it is inventoried as an Altdorfer Resurrection. The painting is dated 1518 on its reverse, providing the canonical creation date and aligning with the artist’s documented work for princely Bavarian and Danube-circle patrons. No archival contract or early provenance beyond the imperial holding is presently known, so the original commission context remains undocumented.
Albrecht Altdorfer's Resurrection of Christ, an oil painting on panel created in 1518, is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The work depicts the Resurrection of Jesus and measures 70.5 cm in height by 37 cm in width. While the painting's presence in the Kunsthistorisches Museum is confirmed, the provided sources do not supply a specific inventory or accession number for the piece. Furthermore, no details regarding the exhibition history of this artwork are recorded in the available documentation.
Overview
Albrecht Altdorfer’s Resurrection of Christ (1518) is an oil painting that portrays the biblical moment of Jesus rising from the tomb. The composition balances a luminous central figure with a somber, rocky landscape, creating a scene that is both dramatic and serene. The work is part of the Northern Renaissance tradition and is currently housed in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Artist & collection
Artist
Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480 – 12 February 1538) was a German painter, engraver and architect of the Renaissance working in Regensburg. Along with Lucas Cranach the Elder and Wolf Huber he is regarded to be the main…
