Jesus Calling Zacchaeus from Geistliche Auslegung des Lebens Jesu Christi (The Spiritual Interpretation of the Life of Christ), Plate 15 from Woodcuts from Books of the 15th Century
c. 1485, portfolio assembled 1929
Medium
Woodcut in black, and letterpress in black (recto and verso), on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image/block: 12.5 × 11.9 cm (4 15/16 × 4 11/16 in.); Sheet: 25.3 × 16.8 cm (10 × 6 5/8 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
129315
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This sparely drawn, anonymous woodcut suggests an incomplete design for stained glass. Copies of the complete book, The Spiritual Interpretation of the Life of Christ, were doubtless also offered in a boldly hand-colored version. In this scene (Luke 19: 1-10), Jesus Christ passes through Jericho and notices a wealthy, but diminutive, devotee who has climbed a sycamore tree (drawn here with recognizable seed pods) in order to see him better. Recognizing Zacchaeus’s enthusiasm, Christ invites hims...