Christ Triumphant over Life and Death
Print
late 17th century (printed), 1500 - 1510 (etched)
late 17th century (printed), 1500 - 1510 (etched)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The plate from which this image was taken was etched between 1500 and 1510. Daniel Hopfer was possibly the earliest to experiment with etching in Europe, using iron or steel plates. This was a natural development from his usual employment as an armourer - etching developed in the Middle East for applying decoration to armour.
The technique involves coating a metal plate with an acid resistant substance and drawing through it using a needle to expose the metal. Acid is used to eat into the exposed lines. This allows for greater freedom with the lines than in engraving. Etching, for instance, allowed the black tonal area on the devil in this image to be made without using hatching. Later, in 1520, Lucas van Leyden experimented with combining etching with engraving, using copper plates instead of iron because the latter was too hard for engraving. Copper also proved a more satisfactory metal for etching, giving softer results.
The size of this print suggests that it might have been intended for display on a wall and the visual arrangement can be understood and read from a distance. However, the addition of descriptive text with biblical references also encourages a closer reading. The inclusion of text suggests a highly literate audience.
This print conflates the story of the Passion of Christ and the Resurrection into a single image in an imaginative and efficient way that both encourages meditation and aids memory. Some of the symbols of the Passion are held by angels above Christ. Images focussing on individual objects from the Passion story developed around the mid 15th century to encourage the viewer to meditate internally on the suffering and torture inflicted on Christ. This image however moves beyond Christ's suffering to his triumph over Death. He stands holding the Resurrection banner over the snake (the Devil?) and Death. The chains attaching Heaven to the snake have been broken - perhaps an alternative visual representation of the Descent into Limbo (see Mantegna), in which Christ breaks the doors to Hell and releases the good souls trapped within.
The technique involves coating a metal plate with an acid resistant substance and drawing through it using a needle to expose the metal. Acid is used to eat into the exposed lines. This allows for greater freedom with the lines than in engraving. Etching, for instance, allowed the black tonal area on the devil in this image to be made without using hatching. Later, in 1520, Lucas van Leyden experimented with combining etching with engraving, using copper plates instead of iron because the latter was too hard for engraving. Copper also proved a more satisfactory metal for etching, giving softer results.
The size of this print suggests that it might have been intended for display on a wall and the visual arrangement can be understood and read from a distance. However, the addition of descriptive text with biblical references also encourages a closer reading. The inclusion of text suggests a highly literate audience.
This print conflates the story of the Passion of Christ and the Resurrection into a single image in an imaginative and efficient way that both encourages meditation and aids memory. Some of the symbols of the Passion are held by angels above Christ. Images focussing on individual objects from the Passion story developed around the mid 15th century to encourage the viewer to meditate internally on the suffering and torture inflicted on Christ. This image however moves beyond Christ's suffering to his triumph over Death. He stands holding the Resurrection banner over the snake (the Devil?) and Death. The chains attaching Heaven to the snake have been broken - perhaps an alternative visual representation of the Descent into Limbo (see Mantegna), in which Christ breaks the doors to Hell and releases the good souls trapped within.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Christ Triumphant over Life and Death (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Etching on paper |
| Brief description | Etching on iron, Christ Triumphant over Life and Death by Daniel Hopfer (ca 1470-1536); etched Augsburg, 1500-1510; printed by David Funck late 17th century. |
| Physical description | Christ stands centre holding the Resurrection banner. He stands on head and tail of a snake circled around a skeleton next to which is a spear. Attached to the snake is a chain which encircles Hell in which can be seen the souls of the Damned, and outside of which fly demons. A broken chain is attached to the snake the remainder of the chain attached to clouds in which is Heaven and the souls of the Blessed, outside of which are more angels. Two angels above Christ's head hold the Instruments of the Passion, one holding the mallet and spear, the other the whip and Crown of Thorns. Text in German surrounds the illustrations. |
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| Object history | Plate subsequently owned by David Funck, a Nuremberg bookseller (1642-1705) and distant relative of Daniel Hopfer, who numbered the plates and reprinted these under the title Operae Hopferianae. Hollstein: 'The iron plates of most of the works of Daniel.. Hopfer were rpeinted at least twice: in the seventeenth century (?) by David Funck at Nurember ... and in the nineteenth century by Silberberg at Frankfurt (1802). |
| Production | David Funck, who lived in Nuremberg, acquired Daniel Hopfer's etched plates after his death, adding a number to each plate as seen here. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The plate from which this image was taken was etched between 1500 and 1510. Daniel Hopfer was possibly the earliest to experiment with etching in Europe, using iron or steel plates. This was a natural development from his usual employment as an armourer - etching developed in the Middle East for applying decoration to armour. The technique involves coating a metal plate with an acid resistant substance and drawing through it using a needle to expose the metal. Acid is used to eat into the exposed lines. This allows for greater freedom with the lines than in engraving. Etching, for instance, allowed the black tonal area on the devil in this image to be made without using hatching. Later, in 1520, Lucas van Leyden experimented with combining etching with engraving, using copper plates instead of iron because the latter was too hard for engraving. Copper also proved a more satisfactory metal for etching, giving softer results. The size of this print suggests that it might have been intended for display on a wall and the visual arrangement can be understood and read from a distance. However, the addition of descriptive text with biblical references also encourages a closer reading. The inclusion of text suggests a highly literate audience. This print conflates the story of the Passion of Christ and the Resurrection into a single image in an imaginative and efficient way that both encourages meditation and aids memory. Some of the symbols of the Passion are held by angels above Christ. Images focussing on individual objects from the Passion story developed around the mid 15th century to encourage the viewer to meditate internally on the suffering and torture inflicted on Christ. This image however moves beyond Christ's suffering to his triumph over Death. He stands holding the Resurrection banner over the snake (the Devil?) and Death. The chains attaching Heaven to the snake have been broken - perhaps an alternative visual representation of the Descent into Limbo (see Mantegna), in which Christ breaks the doors to Hell and releases the good souls trapped within. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1354-1888 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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