Josef Winterhalder (1743–1807) – attributed

In the cave with the grave, Christ, held by angels, lies and mourned on the sarcophagus. The crown of thorns lies on a stone on the floor. An angel supports the upper body and holds a hand of Christ. The angel hugs his head on the head of Jesus in mourning. A kneeling angel on the right holds the other hand of Christ and a third angel holds his feet. The angels show their tenderness to the wound painting of Christ, as you can see especially on the angel, which holds the feet: he looks at the stir. A seated angel figure on the left serves as a repoussoir figure, which closes the composition on the left. A putto on the left of Christ's body wipes the tears out of the cheek. Three heads of Cherubim still appear in the clouds over the scene. The composition is completed by a curved bow. The topic of the Engelspieta has been in painting since the 14th century. It does not show a certain moment of the passion count, but is a symbol of the Eucharist, which means that the dead Christ around grave is associated with the sacrifice. The elegant composition of the present drawing interprets the traditional topic with touching emotionality.The drawing shows the composition of an altarpiece from 1743 by Paul Troger for the left side altar of the Elisabethinenkirche in Bratislava (Pressburg). There are two drawings in the Albertina in Vienna, which also reflect this altarpiece. Inv. No. 27280 is sketchy after the painting. Inv. No. 30823 was previously regarded as a draft for the altarpiece, but Johann Kronbichler attributes the drawing today Josef Winterhalder or Josef Krämer. Inv. No. 30823 and the sheet presented here are very similar in style, but they differ in individual areas. The bottom of the cave in the Vienna sheet is carried out in detail, but there is no upper end of the composition with the cave blanket and the curved end of the altarpiece. Drawing on paper, 34 × 22 cm