The Scourging of Christ by Albrecht Dürer

Albrecht Dürer
1471-1528 | German

The Scourging of Christ

Marked with Durer’s monogram “A.D.” (lower center)
Woodcut print on paper

“Whatever was mortal in Albrecht Dürer lies beneath this mound.” — Albrecht Dürer’s epitaph

Highly detailed and infused with the emotional power for which the artist is remembered, Albrecht Dürer’s The Scourging of Christ is an example of the artist’s technical finesse with woodcut printing and his prowess in rendering Northern Renaissance biblical imagery. Dürer renders The Scourging of Christ vividly, with a dynamic flurry of bodies and whips. Christ's enemies display grotesque expressions, jeering as they viciously tear Christ’s hair and flog him. Ominously, the crown of thorns featured in the lower right waits to be placed upon Christ's head, while the large curtain behind the fray foreshadows the temple curtain that will tear in two upon his death.

The unyielding image of Christ’s torture hails from the artist’s famed Large Passion cycle, published together as a book in 1511. Dürer spent over a decade meticulously creating vivid and animated woodcut renderings of the famed gospel story of Christ’s death and resurrection. Intended as a devotional manual to inspire faithful believers, the images were accompanied by biblical verses describing Christ’s suffering. In many ways, Dürer’s style and technique lent themselves well to this use. The finely-lined figures and settings depicted in The Scourging are remarkably intricate, and the frenetic composition provides a bounty of visually stimulating details for religious contemplation on Christ’s passion.

The reverse of this image includes Latin texts, drawn from several influential medieval monastic figures including Scottish abbot Benedictus Chelidonius (or Benedikt Schwalbe), a friend of Dürer, as well as Caelius Sedulius, Hieronymus Paduanus, Dominicus Mancinus and Baptista Macinus. The faithfuls' writings were then placed into hexameter, joined by transitional phrases. More than mere narrative, the writings include evaluations and reflections on the story, addressing the reader directly and offering a textual basis for reflection that augments Dürer's images.

Remembered as the most important artist of the Northern Renaissance, Dürer was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1471, a time when the city was the artistic center in Europe. His artistic talents were realized at an early age and he apprenticed with both his father, a goldsmith, and the artist Michael Wolgemut, whose workshop produced woodcut illustrations. Dürer was fascinated with the Italian Renaissance and visited the region twice in his formative years, from 1494 to 1495 and again from 1505 to 1507. There, he absorbed the classical techniques and styles of Italian masters such as Antonio Pollaiuolo, Andrea Mantegna and Michelangelo, as well as the region's classical heritage and theoretical writings. Throughout his career, Dürer created both religious and secular woodcuts with unmatched technical virtuosity and psychological depth.

The few other known examples of this present work are held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Houston Museum of Fine Arts as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Circa 1511

Paper: 15“ high x 10 3/4” wide
Frame: 22 1/2“ high x 18” wide x 1 1/8“ deep

Provenance:
Private collection, Chicago

Literature:
Schoch, Mende, & Scherbaum 158.
Hollstein, VII, 107.117.
Kurth, Willi. The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer, 1963, plate 122.
Meder 117.