A Man Crossing a Small Bridge, from Hymmelwagen auff dem, wer wol lebt...
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 3/8 in. × 4 in. (11.1 × 10.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Anne and Carl Stern Gift, 1959
Accession Number
59.507.157(9)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 16th century, the vibrant Northern Renaissance, German artist Hans Schäufelein a pupil of Albrecht Dürer, created intricate woodcuts that brought moral and devotional themes to the masses. *A Man Crossing a Small* (1517), from the publication *Himmelswagen auff dem, wer wolbt...* (Heavenly Chariot the Path of Those Who Live Well exemplifies this tradition. Printed on a modest sheet measuring just 4 3/8 × 4 inches, this woodcut captures a solitary figure navigating a humble bridge, evoking themes of life's precarious journey toward spiritual salvation. Woodcuts like this were revo...
About the Artist
Hans Schäufelein|Hans von Leonrodt|Silvan Otmar · 1480–1540
Hans Schäufelein (c. 1480–c. 1540) was a German painter and graphic artist of the Northern Renaissance whose career placed him at the heart of one of the most dynamic artistic environments in European history. As a young man, he entered the workshop of Albrecht Dürer in Nuremberg, an experience that proved decisive: Dürer's meticulous approach to draughtsmanship, his mastery of printmaking, and hi...