An Old Pilgrim Walking to the Right, from Hymmelwagen auff dem, wer wol lebt... 1517

Editor: This is "An Old Pilgrim Walking to the Right," a 1517 woodcut by Hans Schäufelein, housed here at the Met. There's such an intentional contrast between the dark lines of the figure and landscape and the stark white of the paper. How would you read this image? Curator: The act of making a woodcut itself is deeply intertwined with the social and material conditions of its time. Consider the labor involved, the accessibility of the materials – wood, ink, paper. This wasn't painting for the elite. This was a print, intended for wider consumption. It’s not about ideal forms but about how readily the image can be disseminated. The texture of the wood itself is evident, isn't it? Editor: It really is. The visible wood grain adds a sort of roughness that clashes with the very refined subject matter, don’t you think? I mean, pilgrimage was such an important… industry?… back then. Curator: Exactly! Think about the production. How many prints could one artisan produce in a day? How did this process impact the spread of religious imagery and ideas? Woodcuts democratized art, making images accessible to a broader public who maybe couldn’t afford a painting, shifting the power away from wealthy patrons. Does that influence how you look at the figure of the pilgrim himself? Editor: It does change my perspective, framing him not just as a religious symbol, but also within this burgeoning media landscape, thanks to these reproducible images. Curator: So, we see the hand of the artisan not as a flaw, but as part of its meaning – labor, materiality, and circulation woven into one small print. Editor: I never considered that aspect before, that it was made for mass consumption and was within reach of almost everyone at that time. Thank you for your valuable perspective. Curator: My pleasure. Keep thinking about the materiality of art!