New Year's Card: Christ Child with the Cross 1485 - 1495

This New Year’s card depicting the Christ Child with the cross was made in Germany, probably around 1500, using metalcut and hand-applied color. These small devotional images were produced in multiples, and their cheapness is reflected in the broad strokes used to depict the naked Christ Child as he carries the cross, prefiguring his future martyrdom. Such cards were often given as gifts to mark the transition into a new year, reflecting the social and religious customs of the time. What is striking is the way religious belief permeates the everyday and the way that this imagery is reflective of the kind of personal piety encouraged by the Catholic Church. To understand the social life of images such as this, we can turn to sources such as church records, guild archives, and personal diaries. In these ways, we learn to appreciate the extent to which the history of art is always a history of social institutions.