Sudarium Displayed by Two Angels
1513
Medium
Engraving in black on off-white laid paper
Dimensions
9.9 × 13.8 cm (3 15/16 × 5 7/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
28292
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The impression of Christ’s sweat is said to have formed the original Sudarium when a widow wiped his brow as he paused on the way to his death at Golgotha. This relic and portrait made its way to Rome, and when it came in contact with other cloths, those too bore Christ’s image, in a proliferation that can be seen as a metaphor for the printmaking process. Viewers saying the prayer Salve Sancta Facies (Hail Holy Face) while contemplating the original relic were said to receive indulgences reduci...
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 ...