Christ and the Woman of Samaria, c. 1470

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Christ asks the Samaritan woman to give him water to drink. She is taken aback because Jews did not associate with Samaritans. He speaks to her of the water of life that cures all thirst and reveals himself as the Messiah.

The maker of this metalcut used punches, gouges, and engraving tools to produce a rich array of textures that gives the surface an animated character. The textures enabled the image to compete with completely hand-painted imagery despite being colored with a very limited palette. Prints of this scale and sophistication were sometimes pasted into books as supplementary illustrations, which is why they have survived for more than 500 years.

Details
Title
Christ and the Woman of Samaria
Artist Life
active c. 1465-84
Role
Artist
Accession Number
P.68.90
Provenance
Otto Hiersemann, Leipzig; Colnaghi; Knoedler and Co., 1928
Catalogue Raisonne
Schreiber V & VIII 2214x; Heitz 73/17
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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