# Altarpiece with the Passion of Christ: Christ before High Priest [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [UNKNOWN MASTER, German]() - Date: 1451-1500 - Technique: Oil on panel, 130 x 118 cm ## Commentary The Passion of Christ was a popular theme for 15th-century altarpieces in northern Europe. It is the story of Christ's suffering - from his arrest to his Crucifixion - although it was often expanded to include earlier and later events, such as the Entombment. The figures and settings are treated in a life-like fashion to make the events seem real and the message persuasive. The gold-leaf backdrop embossed to look like damask would have suggested to the 15th-century viewer a heavenly light illuminating eternal truths. When the altarpiece was open, four panels would have been visible on each side of a central carved image, very likely a Resurrection. Christ is the central figure in each painting. His serenity and restraint contrast with the undignified agitation of his tormentors, expressed in their grimaces and jerky movements. This use of angularity and exaggeration to generate an emotional response in the viewer is characteristic of German art of this period. ## Related artworks - [12 scenes from the Life of Christ]() - [A Bath-House]() - [A carpenter at work]() - [A Knight of the Rehlinger Family]() - [A Lady]() - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Adoration of the Shepherds]() - [Altarpiece of the Seven Joys of Mary]() - [Altarpiece of the Seven Joys of Mary]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()