Christ, after His Transfiguration, Exorcises the Devil from the Lunatic, from Leven Christi (Life of Christ), Plate 44 from Woodcuts from Books of the 15th Century
1495, portfolio assembled 1929
Medium
Woodcut in black, and letterpress in black with rubrication (recto and verso), on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 9.6 × 13 cm (3 13/16 × 5 1/8 in.); Sheet: 24.1 × 18.8 cm (9 1/2 × 7 7/16 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
129344
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This sheet, detached from the 1495 edition of Life of Christ by the 14th-century German theologian Ludolph of Saxony, uses both words and image to describe a supernatural event in which Christ expels a demon from a man. The ability to print images alongside text opened new possibilities that sparked the interests of artists and entrepreneurs alike. To accomplish this, an image is carved into a block of wood that is the same height as the letterpress type, enabling both to be inked and printed s...