1475
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Christ as the Man of Sorrows is a 1475 ink by Israhel van Meckenem, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This image shows a round engraving of a sad-looking man with long hair and a beard. He’s wearing a loose robe and has his hands folded in prayer. Above his head, rays of light burst out like a halo, but his face looks downcast. The background has a pattern of lines and dots, like a woven cloth or a starry sky. The artist used tiny lines crisscrossing to create shadows and texture—this is called cross-hatching. It’s a way to add depth without color, just with ink. Look up cross-hatching to see how other artists used this technique.
Israhel van Meckenem (c. 1445 – 10 November 1503), also known as Israhel van Meckenem the Younger, was a German printmaker and goldsmith, perhaps of a Dutch family origin. He was the most prolific engraver of the…
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