1519
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Christ Crowned with Thorns is a 1519 ink by Lucas van Leyden, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows a group of men in a dim, shadowy room. One man sits in the center with a crown of thorns on his head, looking down. Others stand around him—some holding sticks, others pointing or gesturing. The lines are sharp, and the scene feels tense and crowded. Notice how the artist used tiny parallel lines to build up dark areas—this is called cross-hatching. It makes the shadows look deep and the figures stand out. Try looking up *cross-hatching* to see how this technique works in other art.
Lucas van Leyden (1494 – 8 August 1533), was a Dutch painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut. Lucas van Leyden was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and was a very accomplished engraver.
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