1650
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Christ before Pilate is a 1650 ink by French 17th Century, a Baroque work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows a crowded scene with two groups of people facing each other. On the left, a group in robes stands around a figure with long hair and a loose robe. On the right, soldiers in armor hold torches and surround another figure who’s kneeling. In the middle, a man with a beard and long hair stands with his hands tied. The background has a balcony with more figures watching. Notice the way the artist used tiny parallel lines to create shadows and texture—this is called cross-hatching. It makes the scene feel busy and dramatic. Check out how cross-hatching works in other art to see how it builds depth.
Seventeenth-century French printmakers turned ink into story. Their tools were burin and acid, paper their stage. Look at the Beggar Woman with Rosary (1622), etched on laid paper, her hands folded around faith, or The…
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