Description
Michael Wolgemut (teacher of Albrecht Dürer, whose work can be seen nearby) produced this woodcut as part of a book about the life of Jesus. In the 15th century, illustrations in printed books were enlivened by the addition of hand-coloring in watercolor. The colorist of Wolgemut’s gruesome depiction of the flagellation emphasized Jesus’s suffering by adding streams of blood running down his body, a detail absent in the woodblock.
The Scourging of Christ (verso), and The Israelites Enslaved in Egypt (recto), from Schatzbehalter (Treasury)
1491, portfolio assembled 1929
Accession Number
129321
Medium
Woodcut in black with hand-colored additions and letterpress in black with rubrication (recto and verso) on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/block, verso: 25 × 17.5 cm (9 7/8 × 6 15/16 in.); Image/block, recto: 25.2 × 17.6 cm (9 15/16 × 6 15/16 in.); Sheet: 27.2 × 18.2 cm (10 3/4 × 7 3/16 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Credit Line
Print Sales Miscellaneous Fund
Related Artworks
The Martyrdom of Saint Simon of Trent from Schedel Weltchronik (Schedel’s World History), Plate 23 from Woodcuts from Books of the 15th Century
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Pharoah and His Host Perishing in the Red Sea (verso); The Freeing of King Joachim of Jerusalem (recto), pages 56 and 55, from the Treasury (Schatzbehalter)
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Moses Found by Pharaoh's Daughter (recto) and Judas's Betrayal (verso), pages 53 and 54, from the Treasury (Schatzbehalter)
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The Baptism of Christ (verso); The Circumcision of Christ (recto), pages 34 and 33, from the Treasury (Schatzbehalter)
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