
Man of Sorrows, a biblical term, is paramount among the prefigurations of the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
identified by the Bible in the passages of
Isaiah 53 (''
Servant songs'') in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
. '' Christ
Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
, usually naked above the waist, with the wounds of his
Passion prominently displayed on his hands and side (the "
ostentatio vulnerum", a feature of other standard types of image), often crowned with the
Crown of Thorns
According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or ) was placed on the head of Jesus during the Passion of Jesus, events leading up to his crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion. It was one of the Arma Christi, instruments of the Passion, e ...
and sometimes attended by angels. It developed in Europe from the 13th century and was especially popular in
Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...
.
The image continued to spread and develop iconographical complexity until well after the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
, but the Man of Sorrows in its many artistic forms is the most precise visual expression of the piety of the later
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, which took its character from mystical contemplation rather than from theological speculation. Together with the ''
Pietà
The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...
'', it was the most popular of the
Andachtsbilder-type images of the period – devotional images detached from the narrative of Christ's Passion, intended for meditation.
The Latin term ''Christus dolens'' ("suffering Christ") is sometimes used for this depiction. The ''
Pensive Christ'' is a similar depiction, and the usual composition of the ''
Mass of Saint Gregory'' includes a vision of the ''Man of Sorrows''.
Biblical narrative
The phrase translated into English as "Man of Sorrows" ("", ''’îš maḵ’ōḇōṯ'' in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
. '' Vulgate
The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...
) occurs at verse 3 (in Isaiah 53):
3) He is despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
4) Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5) But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.
6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Development of the image
The image developed from the Byzantine
epitaphios image, which possibly dates back to the 8th century. A miraculous Byzantine
mosaic
A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
of it is known as the ''Imago Pietatis'' or ''Christ of Pity''. The work appears to have been brought to the major pilgrimage church of
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome in the 12th century. Only replicas of the original work now survive. By the 13th century it was becoming common in the West as a devotional image for contemplation, in sculpture, painting and manuscripts. It continued to grow in popularity, helped by the
Jubilee Year of 1350, when the Roman image seems to have had, perhaps initially only for the Jubilee, a papal
indulgence
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...
of 14,000 years granted for prayers said in its presence.

The image formed part of the subject of the
Mass of Saint Gregory; by 1350 the Roman icon was being claimed as a contemporary representation of the vision. In this image the figure of Christ was typical of the Byzantine forerunners of the Man of Sorrows, at half length, with crossed hands and head slumped sideways to the viewer's left.
The various versions of the Man of Sorrows image all show a Christ with the wounds of the
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
, including the spear-wound. Especially in Germany, Christ's eyes are usually open and look out at the viewer; in Italy the closed eyes of the Byzantine epitaphios image, originally intended to show a dead Christ, remained for longer. For some the image represented the two natures of Christ – he was dead as a man, but alive as God. Full-length figures also first appear in southern Germany in wall-paintings in the 13th century, and in sculpture from the beginning of the 14th.
Other elements that were sometimes included, in distinct sub-forms of the image, included the ''
Arma Christi'' or "Instruments of the Passion", the cross, a
chalice
A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...
into which blood poured from Christ's side or other wounds (giving an emphasis on the
Eucharist
The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
), angels to hold these objects or support a slumped Christ himself (
Meister Francke shows both roles below), and mourners or worshippers.
[Schiller, 201–219] The ''
Throne of Mercy'' is an image of the
Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
with Christ, often diminutive, as Man of Sorrows, supported by his Father.
Isaiah 53:2 had already been crucial in developing the iconography of the
Tree of Jesse
The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, shown in a branching tree which rises from Jesse (biblical figure), Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. It is the original use of the family tree as a schemati ...
: "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground".
Artworks with articles
*
The Man of Sorrows from the New Town Hall in Prague, wood sculpture, c. 1410
*
Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 29 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, ...
and others,
Triptych of the Madonna, 1464–1470, now Venice
*
Geertgen tot Sint Jans, ''
Man of Sorrows'', c. 1485–1495, now
Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
*
Sandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...
, ''
The Man of Sorrows'', c. 1500–1510
*
Maarten van Heemskerck
Maarten van Heemskerck (born Maerten Jacobsz van Veen; 1 June 1498 – 1 October 1574), also known as Marten Jacobsz Heemskerk van Veen, was a Dutch portrait and religious painter, who spent most of his career in Haarlem. He was a pupil of Jan ...
, ''
Man of Sorrows'', 1532
*
James Ensor
James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic ...
, ''
The Man of Sorrows'', 1891
Gallery
File:De Grey Hours f.203.v Christ as the Man of Sorrows.png, 14th-century depiction of the Man of Sorrows
File:Meister Francke 004.jpg, Master Francke, ''Man of Sorrows, with the Arma Christi and Angels'', c. 1430, Museum der bildenden Künste
The Museum der bildenden Künste (German: "Museum of Fine Arts") is a museum in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It covers artworks from the Late Middle Ages to Modernity.
History
Museum Foundation and First Museum
The museum dates back to the f ...
, Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
File:Dirk Bouts Christ Crowned With Thorns.jpg, Dieric Bouts: ''Christ Crowned with Thorns''
File:Albrecht Dürer - Christ as the Man of Sorrows - WGA06911.jpg, Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...
, ''The Man of Sorrows'', 1493
File:05-Cranach1.jpg, Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder ( ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German ...
, ''Christ as the Man of Sorrows''
File:After Lucas van Leyden 001.jpg, After Lucas van Leyden, ''Man of Sorrows''
File:Donatello, Imago Pietatis, 1449-50, Sant'Antonio, Padua.jpg, Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
, ''Imago Pietatis'', 1449–50, bronze relief from the high altar of the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
File:Ensor, De man van smarten, 1891.jpg, James Ensor
James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic ...
, '' The Man of Sorrows,'' 1891
See also
*
''Messiah'' (Handel), which sets a version of the passage from Isaiah
*
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows (), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are Titles of Mary, names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referr ...
Notes
References
*
*Parshall, Peter, in David Landau & Peter Parshall, ''The Renaissance Print'', Yale, 1996,
*Pattison George, in W. J. Hankey, Douglas Hedley (eds), ''Deconstructing radical orthodoxy: postmodern theology, rhetoric, and truth'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2005, ,
Google books*G. Schiller, ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II'', 1972 (English translation from German), Lund Humphries, London, figs. 471–75,
*
Snyder, James; ''Northern Renaissance Art'', 1985, Harry N. Abrams,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Man Of Sorrows
Iconography of Jesus
Christian terminology
Biblical phrases
Book of Isaiah
Passion of Jesus in art by theme