5103 - Dürer, Albrecht - after

Dürer, Albrecht - after after. The Man of Sorrows and the Landsknecht. Woodcut. 26.5 x 22.1 cm. Heller 1827, 1112, Meder 113 II, TIB (Commentary) .204 C3. The present woodcut was created after Dürer's title page for the Great Woodcut Passion (Meder 113). In this programmatic depiction for the series, Dürer merged the scene from the Passion, in which one of the henchmen presents Jesus with a branch as a sceptre in mockery, with the type of image that was widespread in art during Dürer's time: Jesus at rest, showing the Man of Sorrows seated with his instruments of suffering. Christ looks out of the picture with folded hands. While Dürer surrounded the scene with a cloud gloriole, our artist has placed it in an interior with arched architecture and a paneled floor. In the figures, the artist follows Dürer in detail, but the absence of Christ's stigmata on his hands and feet and the addition of Dürer's monogram on the stone at the bottom are striking. Heller and Strauss described the interior as a prison, but it could also be an ecclesiastical setting. The cutting technique is highly refined and precise, suggesting an accomplished woodcutter. The sheet is extremely rare. We know of only one copy each in Bamberg (Bamberg State Library, shelfmark I E 3a) and in the Louvre (Inv. L 36 LR/36). Excellent impression with only minimal omissions in places, with the framing line and delicate print relief on the verso. Horizontal centerfold and a few creases, three corners with imperceptible, professionally repaired tears, a few minor marginal tears, otherwise in very good condition. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is only stated in the catalog in exceptional cases. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalogue.