De graflegging 1490 - 1503

This small print, titled "De graflegging," was made with wood by an artist known as the Master of the Delbecq-Schreiber Passion. The stark contrast of black ink on paper is characteristic of woodcut prints, achieved by carving away the negative space around a design on a wooden block, and then inking and pressing the remaining raised surface. The artist’s skill is evident in the precise lines that define the figures and the composition. The dense hatching creates depth and shadow, which enlivens the scene of Christ's entombment, while the texture of the wood itself adds a tactile dimension to the image. Woodcut printing allowed for relatively quick reproduction of images, making art accessible to a wider audience, and it highlights a fascinating intersection of artistic skill, labor, and the burgeoning culture of print in its time. Here, the meaning of the work arises from the material processes that formed it, blurring the lines between craft and art.