Dynamic and infused with profound emotion, this fine carving shows the moment after Christ is removed from the cross, just before He is brought to the tomb. His lifeless body lies on a linen cloth supported by Nicodemus on the left and St. John on the right. Joseph of Arimathea is behind Nicodemus, wearing a turban. In her grief, the Magdalene holds His hand to her lips. The Virgin and Mary, the mother of the Apostle Jacob, huddle in anguish in the background. Instruments of the Passion are scattered in the foreground.

Leonhard Kern came from a family of stonemasons and apprenticed in his brother Michael’s studio in Würzburg in 1606, after which he travelled to Southern Europe. This relief of the Lamentation dates early in Kern’s career, between 1614 and 1620, after his return from studying in Italy. He joined his brother’s workshop once again until 1617, when he was offered a position at court with the Palatine Electorate in Heidelberg.

The attribution to Kern is based on direct comparison with several reliefs by him in alabaster and in ivory, including the relief depicting the same biblical scene in the Ecclesiastical Treasury at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, dated 1615-20 (fig. 1).1

Fig. 1 Leonhard Kern, Lamentation and Anointment of Christ, ivory, circa 1615-20 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (Inv. no. D198)

Two further alabaster reliefs from Kern’s early period, relief of Christ as the Savior in the Liebieghaus, Frankfurt (fig. 2) and a larger relief of the Lamentation in the Museum of the Archdiocese in Cologne (fig. 3), depict nearly identical figures of Christ. Also typical of Kern’s work is the low depth of relief with the shallow background evident in both the Cologne Lamentation and the Diamond relief. The shallow border around the edges of the present relief indicates that it was probably set into a frame or architectural feature.

Kern rarely repeated an entire composition, but he repeated elements from other works and developed his own distinctive style. Both the present and the Vienna sculptures illustrate the sculptor’s interest in anatomy with an acute attention to musculature and bone structure. The Magdalene stands in the same compassionate posture in which her head is inclined toward the body of Christ, her face is in profile and a meticulously carved mass of windswept curls radiates from her head. This motif of open, flowing locks of hair is reminiscent of the early 16th century Venetian sculpture of Antonio Lombardo, particularly his Birth of Venus in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London which Kern may well have seen during his travels.2

Drapery also plays a role in animating the image. While the billowing cloaks of the male figures frame the scene, the linen cloth supporting Christ unites the figures and provides a sense of harmony to the composition, forming a gentle wave echoed by the nearly balletic position of His arms. This moment of calm is contrasted by the figure Nicodemus, who has a deeply furrowed brow and strains to hold the weight of the body.

Fig. 2 Leonhard Kern, Christ as Saviour, alabaster, circa 1614, Liebeighaus, Frankfurt am Main (Inv. no. 2386)

Fig. 3 Leonhard Kern, The Lamentation of Christ, alabaster, circa 1615, Art Museum of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Kolumba, Cologne

Later in his career, Kern specialized in kunstkammer objects and ivory and boxwood statuettes, and his reputation was established among foreign and princely clientele. The appearance of Leonhard Kern’s work in the most important 17th century European kunst- and wunderkammers attests to his extraordinary status, particularly in Northern Europe. Despite his great success Kern infrequently signed his work, particularly when he produced sculpture for important commissions when the sculptor’s name was implicit.

RELATED LITERATURE
Elizabeth Grünenwald, Leonhard Kern. Ein Bildhauer des Barock, Schwäbisch Hall 1969, pp. 46, cat. no. 103, pl. 3;
Harald Siebenmorgen, Leonhard Kern (1588-1662). Meisterwerke der Bildhauerei für Sigmaringen die Kunstkammern Europas, Sigmaringen 1988, pp. 101, fig. 1; S. 156–157, cat. No. 58; S. 159-161, cat. no. 61; S. 161-163, cat. no. 62;
Harald Siebenmorgen, Leonhard Kern. Neue Forschungsbeiträge, 1990, pp. 47;
Künstlerfamilie Die Kern 1529-1691. Hohenloher Bildhauer und Baumeister des Barock, Sigmaringen 1998, pp. 118, pp. 123;
Sabine Haag, Meisterwerke der Elfenbeinkunst, Vienna 2007, S. 70-71, cat. no. 17;
Eike Schmidt, Das Elfenbein der Medici, Munich, 2012, S. 70-89

1Georg Laue, op.cit., fig. 14, pp.30-31
2 Georg Laue, op.cit., fig. 20, p. 41