Artwork Page for The Calvary

Details / Information for The Calvary

The Calvary

c. 1520

Daniel Hopfer

(German, c. 1470–1536)
Culture
Germany
Medium
etching
Credit Line
Edwin R. and Harriet Pelton Perkins Memorial Fund 1995.14
Catalogue raisonné
Hollstein XV.54.19
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Although recipes for etching iron and steel are recorded at least as early as 1400, scholars have been unable to show that armor designs were etched in Italy or Germany before the end of the 15th century. As early as 1500 iron plates were also used to make prints, probably first in Augsburg, Germany, in the workshop of Daniel Hopfer. Etching allows the artist to draw freely on the plate and so is less laborious than engraving. Because of the acid then available, only iron or steel plates could be used and these rusted. For this reason only a small number of etchings were made (including six by Albrecht Dürer) until about 1550, when the technical difficulties of using copper plates had been overcome.
A vertically oriented print in dense black-inked fine lines depicts Christ crucified on a central cross, flanked by two men with light skin tones. Below, a dense crowd in armor gathers. To the left, a woman slumped in grief is supported by mourning figures. On the right, a man in striped leggings holds a long pole. Small winged child figures float among swirling clouds above, while intricate hatching creates deep shadows throughout.

The Calvary

c. 1520

Daniel Hopfer

(German, c. 1470–1536)
Germany

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

Contact Us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please fill out the appropriate request form linked below:

Update or Correct Artwork Information

Imagery or Rights for Non-Open-Access Artworks

Report a Website Issue

Further Questions About This Artwork