A Lectern Cloth with the Marriage at Cana
c. 1400
Medium
woodcut on linen, hand-colored in brown and red
Dimensions
overall (fragment): 120.7 x 85.1 cm (47 1/2 x 33 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1949.5.81
Art Historical Context
This rare lectern cloth, titled *A Lectern Cloth with Marriage at Cana*, hails from Germany around 1400, capturing the biblical miracle from the Gospel of John where Jesus transforms water into wine at a wedding feast. Created as a woodcut printed on linen and meticulously hand-colored in earthy browns and reds, this substantial fragment measures nearly 48 by 33 inches, suggesting it once draped a church lectern during services, blending art with liturgy. As one of the earliest known examples of printing on fabric, it showcases pioneering 15th-century techniques: a woodblock carved with the s...
About the Artist
German 15th Century
**German 15th Century** The designation "German 15th Century" encompasses a collective of anonymous artists active in the late medieval and early Renaissance periods in Germany, primarily known through their contributions to early printmaking and panel painting. These creators emerged during a transformative era when woodcuts and engravings began democratizing religious imagery, bridging the Goth...