The Bridegroom Offering a Crown to the Bride from a Canticum Canticorum blockbook, 2nd edition
ca. 1460/65
Medium
Woodcut printed in brown
Dimensions
Sheet: 5 3/8 in. × 7 in. (13.7 × 17.8 cm) Block: 5 in. × 6 13/16 in. (12.7 × 17.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of James Clark McGuire, 1930
Accession Number
31.54.187
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate woodcut *The Bridegroom Offering a to the Bride*, from second edition of a rare Netherlandish *Canticum Cantic* blockbook (ca. 1460/65), an anonymous 15th-century artist captures a tender moment from the Song of Songs, the Bible's poetic celebration of love. The bridegroom, often interpreted allegorically as Christ, presents a radiant diadem to his bride—symbolizing the soul or the Church—evoking themes of divine union and spiritual devotion. Surrounded by delicate architectural motifs and flowing garments, the figures embody the era's mystical reverence for this sensual script...