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About This Work
This engraving presents Jesus Christ appearing as if on a stage, a visual trope known as the 'Theatrum Passionis'. He is depicted with a radiant halo, gesturing toward the spear wound in his side while showing the nail mark in his open hand. A Latin poem at the bottom invites the viewer to dwell on these symbols of divine sacrifice to cultivate the virtues of faith, hope, and love.
The 'Theater' framing links the image to the late Renaissance 'Theatrum Mundi' tradition and the 'Memory Theater' concepts of thinkers like Giulio Camillo, where complex ideas were organized into visual spectacles. Sadeler was a central figure in the court of Rudolf II in Prague, a major center for Mannerist art and esoteric studies.
Inscriptions(Latin)
THEATRVM PASSIONIS CHRISTI Huc spectator ades, vitae mortisq; labores Aspice, quos pro te CHRISTVS amore tulit His oculis et mente pia iuuet usq; morari, Hinc etenim crescit SPES AMOR atq; FIDES. DE Lons ex
Translation
THE THEATER OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST Come hither, spectator, and behold the labors of life and death, Which CHRIST endured for you out of love. May it please you to dwell upon these things always with pious eyes and mind, For from this, indeed, grow HOPE, LOVE, and FAITH. DE Lons ex.
Connected Texts
Theodor Zwinger
Zwinger's 'Theatrum Vitae Humanae' is a contemporary example of the 'Theatrum' genre of texts that organized human experience and spiritual reality into a structured visual and intellectual 'theater'.
Rudolf II
Aegidius Sadeler served as the imperial engraver for Rudolf II, whose court was the primary European hub for the synthesis of art, alchemy, and natural philosophy.
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 158 mm x width 109 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.