Crucifix painted by the Devil(!): Unrecorded ‘enhanced’ engraving.
[Devotional engraving]. Wahrhafftes Crucifix und abbildung des Originals welches zu Maÿland durch den Teuffel ist abgemahlet worden bey den: P. Capuc:. S.l. [German Catholic lands]: s.n., s.a. [second half of 18th century [12.3 x 7.5 cm], [1] f. engraving, cut out and with metal foil affixed to verso, backed with paper. Minor toning and staining, a crude repair to Christ’s left hand, small hole at foot of Cross.
Rare 18th-century ‘enhanced’ engravings depicting a crucifix that—in one of the more curious tales of the early modern era—was said to have been painted by the Devil himself and kept by Capuchin friars in Milan. Portions of the engraved images have been cut out and backed with metal foil to produce a glittering effect in changing light.
Did the Devil paint a crucifix? The iconography here has not yet been fully explained. The text of the prints states that the image is “A true Crucifix and depiction of the original painted by the Devil which is in Milan with the Capuchin friars.”
In 1892 Barbier de Montault investigated the claim that a debauched youth about to sell his soul to the Devil had dared the Evil One to paint a picture of the Crucifixion (the Devil was present at the event, was he not?) and that the resulting painting was kept in the sacristy of the Capuchin monastery on Piazza Barberini in Rome (i.e., Sta. Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini).
Following this, in 1938 John Meier (“Die älteste Volksballade von Dr. Faust,” pp. 12-17) connected the story with the Dr. Faust legend, some versions of which have Faust commanding the Devil to paint a crucifix. Meier reproduced a print (p. 14, no. 1; from the Archiv des Vereins Heimat, Kaufbeuren) similar to the items offered here.
Engravings enhanced with metal foil in the manner seen here were especially popular in German-speaking lands during the second half of the 18th century (they are sometimes called Spickelbilder; see A. Spamer, pp. 105-12). While occasionally interventions of this sort were personal or ad hoc improvements made by a print’s owner, most composite prints of this type were made by design at the printer’s shop. Notable engraver-publishers of Spickelbilder include Caspar Harrer, F. X. Jungwirth and G. W. Weissenhahn in Munich, Georg Frehling and Johann Gutwein in Augsburg, and Johann Hendl in Linz (see, H. Heres, pp. 36-8). Examples of specific Spickelbilder are today rarely found in more than one or two copies.
This engraving is not located by OCLC or KVK. Similar prints are known (i.e., a pair at Stanford signed by Harrer).
* Xavier Barbier de Montault, “Le crucifix peint par le diable, à Rome,” Revue de l’art chrétien, vol. 35 (1892) pp. 41-2; John Meier and Walter Wiora, “Die älteste Volksballade von Dr. Faust,” Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung, vol. 6 (1938), pp. 1-31; Hans Commenda and Giuseppe Vidossi, “Faustiana,” Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung, vol. (1941), pp. 196-198; H. Heres, Das private Andachtsbild: Devotionale, Andenken, Amulett; A. Spamer, Das kleine Andachtsbild vom XIV bis zum XX Jahrhundert.