id: 162306 accession number: 2002.4 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2002.4 updated: 2023-04-23 11:16:02.050000 Pietà, c. 1460. Southern Germany, Swabia, 15th century. Woodcut, hand colored with watercolor; sheet: 38.7 x 28.8 cm (15 1/4 x 11 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Trust 2002.4 title: Pietà title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1460 creation date earliest: 1455 creation date latest: 1465 current location: creditline: Severance and Greta Millikin Trust copyright: --- culture: Southern Germany, Swabia, 15th century technique: woodcut, hand colored with watercolor department: Prints collection: PR - Woodcut type: Print find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Sheet: 38.7 x 28.8 cm (15 1/4 x 11 5/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: description: laid paper watermarks: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection opening date: 2003-08-17T00:00:00 Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003). title: Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art opening date: 2014-03-09T00:00:00 Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE [Sotheby's, London, June 27th, 1988, lot 65]; [N.G. Stogdon, London, German and Netherlandish Woodcuts of the 15th and 16th Centuries, 1991, cat. no 1]; Idemitsu Corporation Museum, Tokyo; [Christie's, London, July 3, 2001, lot 31], bought by N.G. Stogdon and Bob Light date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: In this single-leaf woodcut, Mary’s left hand engages her headscarf in a gesture known as the tuchlein-geste, an act anticipating the wiping away of tears. digital description: Early woodcuts usually illustrate religious subjects for the spiritual edification and contemplative meditation of a mostly illiterate public. Produced by anonymous craftsmen, these simple, direct images facilitated an intimate dialogue between the individual and the holy figure depicted.

Here, a youthful Virgin Mary delicately embraces her dead son’s body, with its hand-colored flesh and drops of blood. Behind her, the wooden cross displays the Instruments of the Passion of Christ: two nails, the crown of thorns, and two scourges. By stressing the humanity of Mary’s grief over her son’s suffering and death, the print encourages an empathetic response from the beholder.

This pietà was probably inspired by sculptures of the subject, common in Germany. Printed on a full sheet of paper, the image was hand colored with watercolor. Remnants of adhesive on the verso and holes caused by insects suggest that it was pasted inside the cover of a book, which preserved it. There are only about 20 northern single-image woodcuts extant. Extraordinary in its large size, fresh color, and good state of preservation, this sheet is the only known impression of the image. wall description: Early woodcuts usually illustrate religious subjects for the spiritual edification of a mostly illiterate public. Produced by anonymous craftsmen, these simple, direct images facilitated an intimate dialogue between the individual and the holy figure depicted. This pietà was probably inspired by sculptures of the subject, common in Germany. Printed on a full sheet of paper, the image was hand colored with watercolor. Remnants of adhesive on the verso and holes caused by insects suggest that it was pasted inside the cover of a book, which preserved it. There are only about 20 northern single-image woodcuts extant. Extraordinary in its large size, fresh color, and good state of preservation, this sheet is the only known impression of the image. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 346 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.4/2002.4_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.4/2002.4_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.4/2002.4_full.tif