1507
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Virgin and Child with Two Boys is a 1507 ink by Albrecht Altdorfer, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows a woman with a crown and halo holding a baby. Two small boys kneel beside her, reaching toward the child. The woman wears a long robe with a belt and a necklace. Behind them, a rocky landscape rises with a church spire and a tent in the distance. The artist used fine lines and shading to create depth, especially in the folds of the clothing and the rough terrain. This kind of detailed linework is called cross-hatching. Next, look up cross-hatching to see how artists build shadows with just lines.
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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