4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2018.

Last Judgment

Artist Marx Reichlich (South German, active ca. 1485 - 1520)

CultureGerman

Dateca. 1490

MediumOil and tempera on wood

DimensionsOverall: 77 5/8 x 65 in. (197.2 x 165.1 cm)
Overall, Frame: 81 3/4 x 70 in. (207.6 x 177.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.3098

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 202

Label TextMarx Reichlich South German, active ca. 1485–1520 Last Judgment Oil and tempera on wood Spiritual shock and awe. That’s the terrifying message of this Last Judgment scene. Medieval Christians viewed the end times in both universal and personal terms—as the final moment of human history and the instant when Christ would judge their souls. In Marx Reichlich’s painting, Christ descends on his rainbow throne and calls the living and dead to judgment. Despite the chaos on the ground, the painting ultimately offers only two outcomes. Either live a virtuous life and ascend into heaven with the saved on Christ’s right, or be condemned to the fiery pit of hell on his left. Among the damned is a bishop whose crown has been snatched by a demon. The warning is clear: Despite your seeming piety in life, only true virtue will ensure a heavenly reward. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.3098 ProvenancePrior to 1953, Liechtenstein collection; acquired by Newhouse Galleries, NY; sold to Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.; gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., to Chrysler Museum of Art, 1971.Published ReferencesThomas W. Sokolowski, "The Chrysler Museum Collection: In-Depth, Last Judgment, Circle of Michael Pacher," The Chrysler Museum Bulletin, Vol. 12, No. 11 (Nov. 1982), ill. Jefferson C. Harrison, "Northern Art, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries," The Chrysler Museum Gallery Guide, Norfolk, VA, 1984, No. 11. Mark St. John Erickson, "Renaissance time for rare altarpiece," _Daily Press_, Sunday, Jan. 19, 1997, illustrated on front page of Arts & Leisure section I. George Keyes, "New, Restored, and Returned," _Historians of Netherlandish Art Newsletter_, (November 1997, Vol. 14, No. 2), 14. _Michael Pacher und Sein Kreis_, exh. cat., Augustiner-Chorherrenstift Neustift, 1998, 257. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 23, fig. 11. David Ekserdjian, "The northern Renaissance response to the Antique before the Sack of Rome," in _Colnaghi Studies Journal_, vol. 08 (London: Colnaghi Foundation, March 2021) 18, fig. 5.