Christ Before Annas
c. 1480
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
Sheet trimmed within platemark: 16.3 × 11.4 cm (6 7/16 × 4 1/2 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
77095
Art Historical Context
Martin Schongauer’s *Christ Before Annas* (c. 1480) is a masterful engraving capturing a pivotal moment from the Passion of Christ, when Jesus is brought before the high priest Annas following his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. Created during the late 15th century in the German-speaking regions, this work reflects the Northern Renaissance's blend of Late Gothic detail and emerging naturalism. Schongauer, a leading artist from Colmar (modern-day France), was renowned as one of the finest engravers of his time, bridging the gap to later masters like Albrecht Dürer, who admired and emulated ...
About the Artist
Martin Schongauer · 1435–1491
Martin Schongauer, born around 1450–1453 in Colmar, Alsace, emerged from a family of skilled artisans. The third of four or five sons of goldsmith Caspar Schongauer, who had relocated from Augsburg to Colmar around 1440, Martin was immersed in the goldsmith's trade from youth, likely receiving his initial training in his father's workshop—a common path for early engravers. He further honed his ski...