by Trevor Blakemore
George Allen & Company Ltd, 1911
Herbert Schmalz changed his name in 1918 to Herbert Carmichael. This book was published in 1911 when copies of his artwork were very popular. There doesn’t seem to be a more recent art book on Schmalz, which suggests that his art has gone out of fashion. His most famous painting is The Return from Calvary (1891):
The scene imagines what happened after John chapter 19, verses 25-27:
“standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing neary, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”
St John and Mary Magdalene are supporting Jesus’ mother. Behind them Mary the wife of Cleophas and Mary’s sister. In the distance on a hillside under a break in the clouds are the crosses of Jesus and the two criminals.
Schmalz describes the origin of the painting:
“I felt that the idea of those dear to Our Lord, returning to their homes after the awful event […] Although they were returning to their homes thoroughly broken down and worn out, and like a ship at sea without a rudder on a rock-bound coast, yet each must have had, according to their temperament, a mysterious instinct which gave them a certain peaceful trust. All was as God had willed it to be. It was necessary for the furtherance of some great scheme vastly beyond their powers of understanding. […] In my original scheme for the picture a prominent feature was a cloud of rather strange construction, intended to convey the idea of the supernatural darkness clearing away. Shortly after our arrival at Jerusalem, when looking out from the balcony one evening, we saw to our astonishment hanging over the city a cloud of the self-same form as that in my sketch at home.” Pages 165 – 166.
In 1895, Schmalz painted a companion piece, “The Resurrection Morn”, where the women come to Jesus’ tomb expecting to annoint His body and are greeted by two angels showing the empty tomb and announcing that He is risen:
In 1896, Schmalz painted “Rabboni” the scene from John chapter 20 verses 16-17 where Mary Magdalene subsequently meets the risen Jesus:
“Jesus said to her, “Mary”. She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father”
I am not such a fan of that image, It feels a bit twee and Jesus looks too western.
It is open to public view at Bramall Hall, Cheshire.
I prefer the paintings where Jesus is suggested rather than directly shown. For example, Schmalz’s 1893 painting of the previous verse, where Mary is looking for Jesus. John chapter 20, verse 15:
“Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away.”
Another painting where Jesus is suggested rather than depicted is in Schmalz’s 1907 “Jairus’ Daughter”, where Jesus’ shadow is shown on the wall:
Blakemore comments:
“She gazes up into Christ’s face with a deep wonder, mingled with thankfulness, as shown in the clasped hands. […] She is now filled with the abundance of life and health, suddenly bestowed from their direct source. This is quite a new rendering, as the girl is almost invariably represented as a pale, sickly convelescent” Pages 104-105.
Perhaps it is time for Schmalz’s work to come back into fashion.
Adrian Vincent
January 2026.