This print is from an engraved ‘niello’ plate. The design was first engraved very finely using a ciapolla, a round-ended burin. Niello describes a technique of inlaying a combination of lead, sulphur, silver and copper into engraved metal (usually silver) for decorative effect. When filled with niello, this brought out the engraved lines of the design in black. The heavily inked background here is fine cross-hatching, which on the finished metal object would be niello. These objects were made in Italy, especially Florence, in the 15th century. Sometimes the engraved design was printed onto paper before the niello was applied, to allow the artist to see the image better.

Maso Finiguerra (1426-1264), a famous niellist and a goldsmith, designer and engraver, was credited incorrectly by Vasari with the invention of copper line-engraving. Engraving originated in Germany. In Italy, however, line-engraving does seem to have emerged from the niello technique and at first the same tool was used, producing images with thin lines and shading expressed as cross-hatching.

The Man of Sorrows imagery shown here reflects a development that occurred in private devotion and was explained in guides to meditation from the 14th century. The torture inflicted on Christ leading up to his Crucifixion expressed in images focussing on his wounds was meant to encourage an internal meditation on the pain and suffering.