Christ with Three of His Apostles

German 16th Century

1550

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Religious

About this work

This engraving shows five men standing outdoors in a simple landscape. The man in the center, with a beard and loose robes, points upward while the others look at him. Behind them, a small village sits on a hill, and a cloudy sky fills the top half. The lines are dark and precise, creating shadows and texture in the clothes and trees. Notice how the artist uses tiny parallel lines to build up dark areas—this is called cross-hatching. It gives the scene depth without color. Check out how cross-hatching works in other prints next.