Christ Taking Leave from his Mother, from "The Small Passion"

Art Historical Context

In Albrecht Dürer's *Christ Taking Leave from his Mother*, from the series *The Small Passion* (. 1508), we witness a tender moment from Christ's life: the young Jesus bidding farewell to the Virgin Mary before beginning his ministry. This intimate woodcut, measuring just under 5 by 4 inches, captures the emotional exchange with Dürer's signature precision—Mary's sorrowful gaze and Christ's gentle resolve rendered in delicate lines that evoke profound humanity. As a pinnacle of Northern Renaissance printmaking, Dürer the humble woodcut medium to fine art through his masterful use of cross-hatching and texture, achieving depth and emotion rivaling painting. Part of a 37-print series depicting the Passion of Christ, *The Small Passion* was designed for personal devotion, making sacred narratives accessible to laypeople during the early Reformation era, when religious imagery faced scrutiny. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's George Khuner Collection, this work exemplifies Dürer's innovative fusion of German precision with Italian Renaissance ideals from his travels. Its small scale invites close contemplation, reminding visitors of art's power to bridge the divine and the everyday.

About the Artist

Albrecht Dürer · 1471–1528

Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) stands as the preeminent figure of the Northern Renaissance and arguably the most influential artist in the history of printmaking. Born in Nuremberg on May 21, 1471, and dying in the same city on April 6, 1528, Dürer revolutionized the status of the artist in Northern Europe, transforming printmaking from a commercial craft into an independent fine art and establishing ...