Stilleven met crucifix en apeschedel - Still life with crucifix and monkey skull

In the 1930's the animal skull was an often recurring pictural element in Schuhmacher's still lifes. He shared this interest with the artists Charley Toorop and Raoul Hynckes. Schuhmacher probably owned the depicted monkey skull since it was represented five years later in Stilleven met apenschedel en vogelskelet (Van Geest, cat.no. 197). The artist also owned the crucifix that we see in the present lot. This sculpture missed its right arm and therefore, he painted a mirror-imaged copy of the left arm. Schuhmacher compared the suffering life of an artist with the life of Christ.