The Ascension, from "The Little Passion"
Original title: The Ascension, from "The Little Passion"
kurzbeschreibung
Albrecht Dürer's woodcut 'The Ascension' belongs to his series 'The Small Passion' and dates from around 1510. It depicts Christ rising, surrounded by apostles who react with various gestures and postures.
Description
Christ appears within a cloud that, along with other cloud formations, suggests the heavens. Below, the apostles look in different directions; some kneel, others make gestures—an expression of surprise and awe. Fine lines and dense hatching give the figures body and shadow. The layout is symmetrical, with Christ as the focal point, around whom the apostles gather.
Context
The Small Passion comprises 37 woodcuts that Dürer made between 1509 and 1511, telling the life and suffering of Christ. In 1511 it was published as a book with Latin texts and became one of Dürer's most famous works. The series was created in Nuremberg, where Dürer worked as a freelance artist, producing primarily for the print market.
Impact
The viewer is immediately drawn into the event: the gaze follows the apostles upward to Christ, who floats amid the clouds. Clear lines and the expressive gestures of the disciples convey the moment of astonishment. The dense hatching makes the sheet appear remarkably deep and sculptural, while the clouds create a heavenly atmosphere.
Technique
The varying density and depth of the cut lines determine how much ink each area holds, producing the full range of light and shade. Dürer refined this by combining fine lines with cross-hatching to build tone values and volume, giving the figures and clouds their modeled, sculptural presence.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)