1513
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Lamentation of Christ is a 1513 ink by Albrecht Altdorfer, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows a group of three figures kneeling in a rocky landscape. One person is holding a limp body wrapped in cloth, while another leans in close, looking sad. The background has jagged mountains and a few puffy clouds, but the focus is on the heavy emotion in their posture. The artist used sharp lines and deep shadows to show the rough terrain and the sorrow of the scene. This kind of printmaking, where the image is carved into wood, was common in the 1500s. Look up woodcut to see how this technique works.
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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