Albrecht Drer

The large Passion

Details

Albrecht Drer
The large Passion
woodcuts, circa 1496-1511, title and set of eleven plates, superb to very fine, black proof impressions, before the Edition of 1511 with Latin text, watermarks Imperial Orb, Bull's Head with Cross and Flower or Name of Mary, a few lesser defects as described below, generally in very good condition
The Man of Sorrows Mocked by a Soldier (B.4), a Meder II impression, watermark Bull's Head with Cross and Flower (M. 66), with small to narrow margins, in good condition
The Last Supper (B.5), watermark Name of Mary (M. 316), with thread margins or trimmed to the borderline, a central horizontal fold (split in places), a soft vertical crease, a thin Japan backing, otherwise generally good condition
Christ on the Mount of Olives (B.6), a Meder a impression, watermark Imperial Orb (M. 53), with thread margins or trimmed to the borderline, a central horizontal fold, generally in very good condition
The Kiss of Judas (B.7), watermark Name of Mary (M. 316), with thread margins or trimmed to the borderline, a central horizontal fold (partially split and Japan-backed at the edges), one or two other small repairs at the edges, otherwise generally in very good condition.
The Flagellation (B.8), watermark Imperial Orb (M. 53), with thread margins or trimmed to the subject, a central horizontal fold (lightly Japan-backed in places), generally in very good condition
Ecce Homo (B.9), a Meder a-b impression (the fine crack at the bottom just touching the robe of the stout man), watermark Imperial Orb (M. 53), trimmed to the borderline, a central horizontal fold, a shorter crease at the lower centre, a pen and ink number at the lower centre edge, one or two very short repaired tears at the edges, otherwise generally in good condition
Christ Carrying the Cross (B.10), watermark Imperial Orb, trimmed to the subject, the border made-up, a central horizontal fold (partially backed with Japan), one or two short repairs at the edges
The Crucifixion (B.11), a Meder a impression, watermark Imperial Orb (M. 53), with thread margins or trimmed to the borderline, a central horizontal fold, one or two tiny repaired spots towards the top, a pale pen and ink number at the lower right, a tiny touched in spot on the Virgin's headdress, generally in very good condition
Christ in Limbo (B.14), a Meder a-b impression, (the crack lower left just discernable), watermark Name of Mary (M. 316), with narrow margins or trimmed on the borderline, a faint central horizontal fold, one or two thin spots on the reverse, one or two tiny tears lightly Japan-backed at the edges, generally in very good condition
The Lamentation (B.13), a Meder a impression, watermark Imperial Orb (M. 53), with 5-7mm. margins, a central horizontal fold (lightly Japan-backed), a repair in the sky and trees to the left of the birds, otherwise generally in very good condition
The Deposition (B.12), watermark Imperial Orb, with narrow to thread margins, a central horizontal fold, a pale glue stain at the centre, otherwise in good condition
The Resurrection (B.15), a Meder b impression, watermark Name of Mary (M. 316), with thread margins, a central horizontal fold (partially supported), a vertical crease in the lower half visible verso, a short printer's crease at the right edge, one or two other tiny backed spots, otherwise generally in very good condition
averaging L. 397 x 286mm. (12)

Provenance

H.A. Cornill-d'Orville (L. 529)
B. 13, Wrtemberg (L. 2606)

Literature

Bartsch 4-15; Meder, Hollstein 113-24

Lot Essay

Seven of the twelve prints for this series were designed before 1500, the last four in 1510. The seven earlier woodcuts already show a marked break from the flat stylised designs produced in Germany at the time. The images are rendered with a new vitality of design and a sculptural dynamic that revolutionized the development of 16th century woodcuts. The vivacity with which Drer explores the dramatic events of the Life of Christ, his intense examination of the natural world, movement of the figures, and the effects of light and darkness, illustrate a mastery of the medium never shown before.

After his second Italian trip of 1505-7, Drer developed his woodcut style significantly, extending the tonal scale, almost painterly in range, and beginning to depict form in terms of light and shadow. An evenness of treatment replaces strong outline, and the white paper no longer serves to accentuate the linear quality of the medium but represents highlighted portions of the subject. The later prints in The large Passion are therefore in strong contrast to the ones designed before 1500, and can be compared to Drer's chiaroscuro drawings, where the coloured paper was used as a middle tone between the white painted highlights and the black shadows. Panofsky call this equivalent in prints the 'graphic middle tone':

'To achieve an analogous effect in ordinary woodcuts and engravings Drer had to create by linear means a value equivalent to the coloured paper in white-heightened drawings... He had to stipulate that as a solidly coloured surface of medium darkness is accepted as a middle tone in relation to darker and lighter areas, so a system of parallel hatchings of medium density be accepted as a middle tone in relation to hatchings of greater density - particularly cross-hatching and to the blank paper.'

The greater unification of format and harmony in composition that Drer achieves in these later works are the fruition of many years study of Renaissance theory on perspective and proportion.

More from Old Master Print Collection

View All