Christ on the Mount of Olives, from "The Passion"
Original title: Christ on the Mount of Olives, from "The Passion"
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike related prints from the Passion cycle, this woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder keeps prayer and sleep firmly apart. The undated sheet from the Passion series measures 25 × 17 cm and sets Christ at prayer among sleeping disciples and angels.
Description
The layout falls into two zones. In front, several figures lie and crouch in varied poses, some flat on the ground, others beginning to stir. Trees and clouds suggest a nighttime landscape behind them. At the upper left, angels appear holding chalices and wreaths. Fine linework and hatching build light and depth across the monochrome image.
Context
Cranach the Elder issued several Passion cycles as woodcuts, and these circulated widely during the Reformation. Exactly when this sheet was made is not recorded; the Wittenberg workshop probably produced it sometime between the 1510s and the 1530s. Such prints served religious instruction and often turned up in illustrated Bibles or devotional books.
Impact
Crisp lines and a quiet yet tense scene shape the print. Subtle contrasts of light and shadow give it a meditative mood that invites close looking.
Technique
This is a woodcut, a relief process in which the design is cut into a wooden block and then printed onto paper. Cranach used fine lines and hatching to draw out detail and shadow. The paper size of 25 × 17 cm points to a typical single-sheet print.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)