Anonymous Parisian Artist
Christ as Man of Sorrows and the Virgin,
hand-colored woodcut with contemporary coloring (208 x 152 mm.),
in a wood and metal coffret (180 x 275 x 125 mm.)
France, probably Paris, c. 1500
The source of this representation is probably Italian, but, the present print is French, as the xylographic inscription proves. The use of Venetian imagery confirms the internationality of the Parisian print scene around 1500, when printmakers frequently adapted models of Italian, German, and northern origin. The colors are in the same palette as the prints in the series by the Master of the Très Petites Heures of Anne of Brittany: yellow, orange, red, and green. What was the function of these boxes and how do the prints—their devotional iconography and their texts—help disentangle the puzzle of their use? These rare prints, fortuitously preserved in their boxes, still invite further research in order to unlock their secrets.
www.lesenluminures-france1500.com
 
Close window X