Saint Christopher [recto]

About this work

This broken piece of paper shows a simple drawing of a bearded man carrying a small child on his shoulders. Behind them, a church with a cross-topped roof and a small tower peek through the trees. The figures are outlined in black, with brown and yellow added by hand, and the ground looks like rough, cracked earth. The drawing is a woodcut, meaning it was carved into wood and then printed. This style was common in the 15th century, when books and images were often made this way. Look up woodcut to see how artists carved and printed these early images.