The Road To Calvary
1485-91
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet trimmed within platemark: 28.7 × 43 cm (11 5/16 × 16 15/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
20352
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This print imagines the chaotic march to the site of the Crucifixion. Surrounded by a crowd of tormenters, Jesus stares out at the viewer, collapsed under the weight of the instrument of his death, the cross. Martin Schongauer, the most influential engraver prior to Albrecht Dürer (whose work can be seen nearby), brought unprecedented detail and tonal variety to the medium. At the time of its making, this was also one of the largest engravings ever produced. Its widespread impact is attested by ...
About the Artist
Martin Schongauer · 1435–1491
Martin Schongauer, born around 1450–1453 in Colmar, Alsace, emerged from a family of skilled artisans. The third of four or five sons of goldsmith Caspar Schongauer, who had relocated from Augsburg to Colmar around 1440, Martin was immersed in the goldsmith's trade from youth, likely receiving his initial training in his father's workshop—a common path for early engravers. He further honed his ski...