Christ Carrying the Cross

Deutsche Grafik 1460–1470, c. 1470/1480

This print shows a group of six people. In the center is a bearded man with long hair wearing a robe and holding a large wooden cross over his shoulder, facing the left. There is a halo around his head, and a streak of green paint has been applied over what appears to be a crown made of twisting lines that he wears. Another bearded man stands behind him on the right, holding the bottom of the cross. On the left, a person wearing armor holds the end of a robe that appears to be tied to the central man, and with his other hand he raises a club-like weapon. Three more people stand in the background, observing. The two people on the right, near the upper right corner of the print, have halos around their heads; one is a person with shoulder-length hair, and the other is a person with a dotted cloth draped over their head and around their body. In the upper right corner, there is a hint of a brown building with two tall towers, and on the left there is a sloping shape. The sky is blank, and the ground beneath the people's feet is green and covered with dots and small grass. The central image is surrounded by a yellow border filled with curved lines. Paint has been applied unevenly to the print, and the color frequently bleeds beyond the lines of the people and objects.
Artist
Deutsche Grafik 1460–1470
Date
c. 1470/1480
Type
Print
Medium
metalcut, hand-colored in yellow, red-brown lake, and green
Dimensions
6.3 × 4.8 cm
Collection
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licence
Public domain, CC0

Image description

This print shows a group of six people. In the center is a bearded man with long hair wearing a robe and holding a large wooden cross over his shoulder, facing the left. There is a halo around his head, and a streak of green paint has been applied over what appears to be a crown made of twisting lines that he wears. Another bearded man stands behind him on the right, holding the bottom of the cross. On the left, a person wearing armor holds the end of a robe that appears to be tied to the central man, and with his other hand he raises a club-like weapon. Three more people stand in the background, observing. The two people on the right, near the upper right corner of the print, have halos around their heads; one is a person with shoulder-length hair, and the other is a person with a dotted cloth draped over their head and around their body. In the upper right corner, there is a hint of a brown building with two tall towers, and on the left there is a sloping shape. The sky is blank, and the ground beneath the people's feet is green and covered with dots and small grass. The central image is surrounded by a yellow border filled with curved lines. Paint has been applied unevenly to the print, and the color frequently bleeds beyond the lines of the people and objects.

Deutsche Grafik 1460–1470