Silver Statuette of St. Thomas, from the "Wittenberg Reliquaries"
Original title: Silver Statuette of St. Thomas, from the "Wittenberg Reliquaries"
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike the other sheets in the series, this woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder does not reproduce a painted figure but records a silver statuette of Saint Thomas from the 'Wittenberg Relics'. Measuring just 13 × 6.6 cm, the print was made in the early sixteenth century and translated a reliquary into graphic form.
Description
Saint Thomas stands squarely on a pedestal, facing the viewer in a long-sleeved, patterned robe. His right hand grips a lance from which a sword hangs, and a halo of rays encircles his head. Flowers and fruit adorn the base. The layout is symmetrical and centered, while dense hatching produces crisp contours and a fine internal structure.
Context
Frederick the Wise had assembled a substantial collection of relics in the castle church at Wittenberg, known as the 'Wittenberg Relics'. Around 1509 his court painter, Lucas Cranach the Elder, made woodcuts documenting the reliquaries for a printed relic book. This sheet belongs to that series, which presented the relics visually to pilgrims and the faithful.
Impact
The mirror-like symmetry and the rayed halo give the print a solemn, sacred air. Because everything stays within black and white, attention settles on the lines, which lend the figure an almost sculptural presence.
Technique
A woodcut belongs to relief printing: the drawing is cut into the woodblock and transferred to paper with printer's ink. Sharp contours and parallel hatching characterize early sixteenth-century printmaking and allow precise reproduction even at small formats.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)