1523
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Letter Y is a 1523 ink by Hans Lützelburger, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This is a black-and-white woodcut showing two scenes inside a big Y shape. On the left, a small child sits on a bench, holding a stick and looking down. On the right, a group of people—some standing, some kneeling—reach toward a cross on a hill. The background has simple buildings and trees, drawn in sharp lines. The Y shape isn’t random—it’s the letter Y, and the whole thing is an allegory, meaning it stands for bigger ideas. The artist used woodcut, a technique where images are carved into wood and printed. Next, look up woodcut to see how this printing method worked.
Hans Lützelburger (died June 1526), also known as Hans Franck, was a German blockcutter ("formschneider") for woodcuts, regarded as one of the finest of his day.
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