1520
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Holy Kinship is a 1520 ink by Albrecht Altdorfer, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This woodcut shows a crowded scene of people gathered around a small, rocky landscape. In the background, a town with towers and spires sits on a hill, while a river winds below. Figures in flowing robes and simple clothes stand close together, some looking up, others down, as if part of a shared moment. Notice how the artist packed so much detail into the tiny town and winding river—it’s like a tiny world inside the picture. The people’s faces and gestures feel full of meaning, even though no one is talking. This is a woodcut, a printmaking technique where the artist carves into wood and presses ink onto paper.
Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480 – 12 February 1538) was a German painter, engraver and architect of the Renaissance working in Regensburg. Along with Lucas Cranach the Elder and Wolf Huber he is regarded to be the main…
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