Christ and the Woman of Samaria
Medium
Woodcut; first state of three (Hollstein)
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 1/16 × 6 3/16 in. (23 × 15.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1932
Accession Number
32.64.7
Tags
About this artwork
Lucas Cranach the Elder created this powerful woodcut depicting the biblical encounter between Christ and the Woman of Samaria at Jacob's Well. Active during the height of the Protestant Reformation, Cranach served as court painter to the Electors of Saxony and became the most important visual propagandist for Martin Luther's religious movement. This print represents the first state of three, showing the artist's meticulous approach to printmaking. The composition focuses on the theological sign...
About the Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder · 1472–1553
Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472-1553) was one of the most prominent German Renaissance painters and a key artistic figure of the Protestant Reformation. Born in Kronach, Franconia, to the painter Hans Maler, Cranach began his career in Vienna around 1502, where he became one of the founders of the Danube School, a movement characterized by expressive landscape painting and emotional force. His ea...