Christ before Herod

Christ before Herod

German 15th Century

1438

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

About this work

This image shows two figures standing side by side. The person on the left wears a long, striped robe with yellow and green patches, and a tall hat with a feather. The person on the right has a bright red robe with yellow stripes and a crown-like hat. The background is simple, with a few green shapes that look like leaves or trees. The colors are flat and bold, with no shading. The lines are clean and sharp, like they were carved into wood before being colored by hand. This style was common in early printed images. Look up woodcut to see how this technique works.

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