The Nativity and Passion of Christ

Wolf Traut

1511

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Religious

About this work

This print shows many small scenes from the life of Jesus. At the top, you see his birth and early years. Below that, a big crowd gathers around a cross. The edges have text in Latin and tiny pictures of more moments. The artist used a sharp tool to carve images into wood blocks. That’s how the lines look so clean and crisp. Look up woodcut to see how this printing trick worked.