The Lamentation 1496 - 1499

Albrecht Dürer created this print, 'The Lamentation,' using woodcut, a relief printing technique. Consider the labor involved. Dürer painstakingly carved his design into a block of wood, removing areas that would remain white and leaving raised lines to be inked. The quality of the impression depended entirely on the mastery with which the block was cut. Prints like this one played a key role in the rise of a visual culture that coincided with the rise of capitalism. They were relatively inexpensive, so widely accessible. The stark black and white of the woodcut, so different from the subtle gradations possible in painting, lent itself to potent, graphic imagery. In this artwork, the sharp lines and intricate detail emphasize the emotion of the scene, with the texture adding depth and drama to the figures and landscape. Dürer's technical virtuosity, combined with the accessibility of printmaking, democratized art in early 16th-century Europe, blurring the lines between fine art and craft.