← Albrecht Dürer

Christ Nailed to the Cross, from "The Small Woodcut Passion"

Original title: Christ Nailed to the Cross, from "The Small Woodcut Passion"

Artist

Albrecht Dürer

Date

1509–10

Medium

Hand-colored woodcut

Credit line

The George Khuner Collection, Gift of Mrs. George Khuner, 1975

kurzbeschreibung

Albrecht Dürer's hand-colored woodcut from 1509–10 belongs to the 'Small Woodcut Passion' and presents the crucifixion of Christ: Christ is laid on the wood and nailed fast, surrounded by soldiers and other figures in a landscape.

Description

In the foreground, the stripped Christ lies on the cross; his arms are already fixed, while several soldiers support the wood. The armed men wear medieval armor and carry spears. Trees and shrubs fill the rear area, giving the image a rural setting. Women and men stand apart, in sorrow or shock. Strong colors set the figures clearly apart from their surroundings; the light is evenly distributed, suggesting daylight.

Context

Between 1509 and 1511, Dürer worked on the 'Small Woodcut Passion,' a series of 36 woodcuts on the Passion of Christ. They were created in Nuremberg, where Dürer was active as a respected artist. The prints were intended for wide distribution and were sold both individually and in book form. The coloring probably comes from a workshop skilled in hand-coloring printed graphics.

Impact

The precise execution and rich colors make the sheet immediately appealing. The layout directs the viewer's gaze to the suffering Christ and creates a strong emotional tension characteristic of late medieval devotional art.

Technique

Dürer builds the scene from clear contours and graduated parallel hatching, so that the cut lines themselves carry the modelling of bodies, armour and drapery. Directional hatching concentrates darker, denser tone in the shadows and opens into lighter areas where the lines thin out, giving the figures volume and separating them from the background. The hand-applied watercolour then layers over this linear structure, so that each impression keeps its own colouring while the printed line still determines light and shade.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)