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"Help Him Who Takes up His Burden, Not Him Who Lays It down" [fol. 31 recto]

French early 16th Century

1514

ink

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Allegory

Dominant colour

"Help Him Who Takes up His Burden, Not Him Who Lays It down" [fol. 31 recto] is a 1514 ink by French early 16th Century, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: French early 16th Century
When & what style?: 1514 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This drawing shows a busy scene with lots of movement. On the left, a man is nailed to a cross with a sign that says "INRI." Below him, another man struggles under a heavy bundle of sticks. To the right, a bearded figure with a halo points upward, while two people below him seem to be climbing or struggling with ropes. The words around the images are in Latin, like "Vir tollens onus" (meaning "the man who takes up his burden"). This suggests the drawing is teaching a lesson about hard work and responsibility. Look up cross-hatching to see how artists like this one used layers of lines to create depth.

About the artist

Artist

French early 16th Century

A French draftsman from the early 1500s filled sheets of laid paper with tiny, sharp-tongued instructions—ink sketches paired with warnings like “Do Not Eat Your Heart Out” or “Feed Not Things That Have Sharp Claws.”…

See the richer artist page