Silver Statuette of the Risen Christ, from the Wittenberg Reliquaries

Art Historical Context

This delicate woodcut print, *Silver Statuette of the Risen Christ, from the Wittenberg Reliquaries*, captures the triumphant figure of the resurrected Christ as rendered by Lucas Cranach the Elder, a leading German Renaissance artist (1472–1553). Cranach, renowned for his vivid altarpieces and portraits, was a master printmaker whose works often blended religious devotion with emerging Protestant ideals. Here, the small-scale image (just 2¼ × 5⅛ inches) reproduces a silver statuette from the famed Wittenberg reliquaries, evoking the sacred treasures housed in the Saxon city's churches during the early 16th century. Wittenberg, heart of the Protestant Reformation under Martin Luther—Cranach's close friend and patron—made such imagery potent tools for spreading faith. This second state of the woodcut (per Hollstein's catalog) likely features refined details from its block, allowing widespread dissemination of the Risen Christ's glory to pilgrims and believers. Prints like this democratized art, bridging elite reliquaries with everyday devotion. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1927), it exemplifies Cranach's skill in concise, expressive lines that convey resurrection's hope, inviting visitors to ponder faith's enduring visual power.

About the Artist

Lucas Cranach the Elder · 1472–1553

Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472-1553) was one of the most prominent German Renaissance painters and a key artistic figure of the Protestant Reformation. Born in Kronach, Franconia, to the painter Hans Maler, Cranach began his career in Vienna around 1502, where he became one of the founders of the Danube School, a movement characterized by expressive landscape painting and emotional force. His ea...