Pilate Washing His Hands, from The Fall and Salvation of Mankind Through the Life and Passion of Christ
ca. 1513
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 1/8 × 2 3/16 in. (8 × 5.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.11.32
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the dramatic woodcut *Pilate Washing His Hands created around 1513 by Albrechttdorfer, we witness a pivotal moment from the Passion of Christ. Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect, ritually washes his hands to symbolize his refusal to take responsibility for Jesus's fate, as described in the Gospel of Matthew. This print forms part of Altdorfer's ambitious series *The Fall and of Mankind Through the Life and Passion of Christ*, comprehensive narrative blending Old Testament origins with New Testament redemption. At just 3 1/8 × 2 3/16 inches, its intimate scale invites close contemplation, muc...
About the Artist
Albrecht Altdorfer · 1475–1538
Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480–1538) was a German painter, printmaker, and draftsman who stands as one of the founders of landscape painting as an independent genre. Born in Regensburg or nearby Altdorf, he learned art from his father Ulrich, a painter and miniaturist. Altdorfer spent most of his life in Regensburg, becoming a citizen in 1505 and later serving as the city's official architect and a m...