Artwork Page for Christ on the Cross between the Virgin and Saint John

Details / Information for Christ on the Cross between the Virgin and Saint John

Christ on the Cross between the Virgin and Saint John

1503

Lucas Cranach

(German, 1472–1553)
Culture
Germany, early 16th Century
Medium
woodcut on vellum, hand colored with watercolor
Measurements
Image: 22.7 x 16.2 cm (8 15/16 x 6 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1972.128
Catalogue raisonné
Hollstein 29
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The first carved woodblocks were printed on textiles or vellum until about 1400, when the supply of paper became more abundant.
A vertically oriented woodcut on vellum with watercolor washes depicts Christ, a man with a light skin tone, on the cross. Shaded with fine hash marks and draped in heavily folded robes, Mary stands to our left while Saint John stands to our right, both with circular halos. Christ's head bows as blood drips onto the grassy ground strewn with skulls and bones. In the background, a river and town appear beneath a blue sky.

Christ on the Cross between the Virgin and Saint John

1503

Lucas Cranach

(German, 1472–1553)
Germany, early 16th Century

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