The Resurrection, from The Passion
c. 1470–75
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
Sheet trimmed within platemark: 16.4 × 11.7 cm (6 1/2 × 4 5/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
77119
Art Historical Context
Step into the intricate world of late 15th-century German printmaking with Martin Schongauer'sThe Resurrection, from The Passion*, created around 1470–75. Schongauer, a pioneeringaver from Colmar (modern-day France), was a master the Northern Renaissance, blending late Gothic detail with emerging Renaissance naturalism. This small engraving (16.4 × 11.7 cm) captures a pivotal moment in Christian theology: Christ's triumphant emergence from the tomb, surrounded by slumbering guards and divine light—a scene meant to inspire devotion during the Passion cycle, a popular series depicting Christ's s...
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...