Sleeping guardian of a grave with sword and halberd

Bernhard Strigel, court painter to Emperor Maximilian I, painted this sleeping guardian with a sword and halberd around 1520. The figure likely represents one of the soldiers guarding Christ's tomb who fell asleep before the Resurrection. The painting is in the Bavarian State Painting Collections Bernhard Strigel served as court painter to Emperor Maximilian I, making him among the most sought-after portraitists in the Habsburg world during the early sixteenth century.

The sleeping soldier is rendered with Strigel's characteristic attention to costume and armor detail. The figure's unconscious pose contrasts with his martial equipment, creating a visual paradox central to the Resurrection narrative.