The Man of Sorrows Mocked by a Soldier

Created in 1511, The Man of Sorrows Mocked by a Soldier is a woodcut executed by Albrecht Dürer on laid paper. As part of the Great Passion series, the work exemplifies the German Renaissance movement through its precise line work and religious subject matter. The print measures 38.5 cm in height and 26.4 cm in width.

Produced in Nuremberg, the medium of woodcut on paper allows for the detailed depiction of the Man of Sorrows and the surrounding figures, characteristic of Dürer's mastery of the technique during this period.

Executed in 1511 during Dürer’s mature period, this woodcut belongs to the ‘Great Passion’ series. The sheet was first recorded in the collection of King Ferdinand of Portugal (1816–1885), then passed to Vincent Mayer in New York; it later entered the holdings of Wiliam Goodwin Russell Allen in Boston. In 1941 Allen donated the impression to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it remains.

Impressions of Albrecht Dürer's 1511 woodcut The Man of Sorrows Mocked by a Soldier are held in major international collections, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Albertina, the Rijksmuseum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Kupferstich-Kabinett in Dresden. The specific impression at the National Gallery of Art entered the institution in 1941 as a gift from William Goodwin Russell Allen of Boston. This particular sheet previously belonged to the collections of Vincent Mayer of New York and King Ferdinand of Portugal.

The work is part of Dürer's Great Passion series. While multiple museums hold examples of this print, the provenance of the Washington impression is documented through these specific former owners before its accession into the Rosenwald Collection.

Albrecht Dürer’s woodcut titled The Man of Sorrows Mocked by a Soldier dates from around 1511. Executed on laid paper, the print presents a compact yet meticulously rendered image of the crucified Christ, whose wounded body and crown of thorns are emphasized by the artist’s precise line work. The work is part of the National Gallery of Art’s collection in Washington, D.C.

Created during the later phase of Dürer’s career, the woodcut aligns with the Northern Renaissance’s heightened interest in devotional imagery and the technical possibilities of print media. The work illustrates how artists of the time employed portable formats to disseminate religious narratives to a broader audience beyond the confines of altarpieces and manuscripts.