The Parable and the Sower, from Das Plenarium
Medium
Woodcut (hand-colored)
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 11/16 × 2 11/16 in. (9.4 × 6.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1961
Accession Number
61.663.341
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Parable of theower*, a delicate hand-colored woodcut from1517, created by the German artist Hans Schäufelein and printed by Adam Petri as part of *Das Plen*, a popular German book of liturgical readings for the year. This tiny print (just 3 11/16 × 2 11/16 inches) captures Jesus teaching his parable from the Gospel of Matthew, surrounded by attentive men—likely his disciples—emphasizing themes of faith, growth, and divine word scattering like seeds on varied soils. Woodcuts like this were revolutionary in the early 16th century, enabling mass production of affordable religious ima...
About the Artist
Hans Schäufelein|Adam Petri · 1480–1540
Hans Schäufelein (c. 1480–c. 1540) was a German painter and graphic artist of the Northern Renaissance whose career placed him at the heart of one of the most dynamic artistic environments in European history. As a young man, he entered the workshop of Albrecht Dürer in Nuremberg, an experience that proved decisive: Dürer's meticulous approach to draughtsmanship, his mastery of printmaking, and hi...