Broadside with 48 scenes illustrating passages of holy scripture (Part II)

Art Historical Context

This 1868 wood engraving by Antonio Bosch Domenech presents a lively compendium of biblical narrative on a single sheet. Titled as Part II of a larger series, the broadside packs forty-eight individual scenes drawn from holy scripture a compact format measuring roughly seventeen by twelve inches. Created through the precise lines of wood engraving—a technique prized in the nineteenth century for its ability to render fine detail at low cost—the print allowed religious stories to reach wide audiences beyond church walls. The composition teems with figures of men and women, animals, arrows, and shields, suggesting dramatic episodes of faith, conflict, and divine intervention. Such broadsides served as affordable visual catechisms, helping viewers recall key passages through sequential imagery. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1978 through the Max G. Wildnauer Fund, the sheet exemplifies how printmakers of the era blended education, devotion, and popular art into one accessible object. Its survival offers modern visitors a window into mid-nineteenth-century religious culture, where art and scripture traveled together into homes and marketplaces.