Two prints: The Crucifixion on recto and Christ Bearing the Cross on verso, from The Passion
Original title: Two prints: The Crucifixion on recto and Christ Bearing the Cross on verso, from The Passion
kurzbeschreibung
Lucas Cranach the Elder brings two scenes together in this sheet from his Passion series: the Crucifixion on the front and Christ Carrying the Cross on the reverse. Both woodcuts are undated and reproduce, in black and white, central moments of the suffering of Christ.
Description
On the front, Christ hangs at the middle of the cross, the INRI tablet above him. Soldiers and onlookers crowd the foreground; a lone figure, likely a guard, stands to the right. A dramatic sky heavy with clouds fills the distance. The reverse has Christ bearing the cross, hemmed in by armored soldiers and companions, with trees and landscape faintly indicated. Both sides are built symmetrically, and the tightly packed figures raise the intensity of the action.
Context
The woodcut series Die Passion was made in the first half of the sixteenth century, when religious prints were widely circulated. Such sheets served private devotion and were sold both in bound volumes and singly. Cranach, court painter to the Saxon electors in Wittenberg, was among the most productive printmakers of his day. No precise date for the series has come down to us.
Impact
The close stacking of the figures and the clear outlines pull the event right up to the viewer, almost oppressively so. With color limited to black and white, attention goes to the expressive telling of the Passion scenes, and their emotional force is heightened.
Technique
Both motifs are woodcuts, relief prints in which the drawing is cut into a woodblock and then pulled on paper. The detailed linework and the contrasts between figures and setting are characteristic of Cranach's printed work. The paper measures 33.3 × 24.5 cm against a block of 24.6 × 16.2 cm, which points to a wide margin.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)