Christ Washing the Feet of the Apostles

Christ Washing the Feet of the Apostles

circa 1600
Artist
unknown artist
Country
Mexico
Style/Tradition
Mexican Colonial
Object
wood relief, panel
Medium
Paint and gold leaf on carved wood.
Accession Number
1986.603
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Morris A. Long

Unknown artist, Christ Washing the Feet of the Apostles, about 1600. Paint and gold leaf on carved wood; 54 × 30 in. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Morris A. Long, 1986.603.

Dimensions
height: 54 in, 137.1600 cm; width: 30 in, 76.2000 cm
Department
Mayer Center, Latin American Art
Collection
Latin American Art
This object is currently on view

This carving of Christ Washing the Feet of the Apostles would have been created for and used in an altarscreen of a late 16th-century Mexican church. Latin American churches were decorated with carved wood statues and relief carvings, just as they were in Europe. In the late 1500s artists who emigrated to the Americas from Europe worked to decorate churches, often assisted by Indigenous artists. As styles changed through the centuries, altarscreens were often dismantled and replaced with new ones.
     The artist who created this panel used foreshortening so that when it was mounted high on the wall in an altarscreen the imagery would have appeared three dimensional to the viewer. This consideration of viewer perspective on the part of the artist is particularly evident in the basin at the bottom of the panel. In order to create the effect of fabrics and skin the artist layered gesso, gold leaf, and paints over carved wood.
-- Donna Pierce & Julie Wilson Frick, 2015

Known Provenance
Gifted 30 December 1986 to the Denver Art Museum by Mr. and Mrs. Morris Long. Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.