Dead Christ 1671

print, etching

toned paper

light pencil work

print

etching

pencil sketch

personal sketchbook

ink drawing experimentation

pen-ink sketch

sketchbook drawing

pencil work

sketchbook art

watercolor

"Dead Christ" is a 1671 etching by Jan de Bisschop, a Dutch artist known for his detailed and expressive drawings. The artwork depicts a nude Christ slumped over a stone, likely inspired by the iconic Renaissance tradition of depicting the subject. While the artist died in 1609, this etching is a testament to his enduring influence on later generations of artists. The Minneapolis Institute of Art houses this intimate portrayal of Christ's death, showcasing Bisschop's masterful handling of light and shadow to convey the weight of the moment.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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This etching of the dead Christ supported by an angel was executed by the Dutch lawyer and amateur artist Jan de Bisschop after a drawing attributed to the great Bolognese painter Annibale Carracci, which is now in the Albertina, Vienna. The print was part of an influential drawing manual de Bisschop produced The Paradigmata Graphices Variorum Artificum, which feature etchings of the human body after Italian Renaissance and Baroque works. Published in the Netherlands in 1671, this influential drawing manual introduced aspiring northern artists to the canon of Western art, which was predominantly Italian and thus—except to the lucky few who could travel to Italy—known largely through prints and copies. De Bisschop probably never went to Italy, so he collaborated with draftsmen who had traveled there as well as studied prints and drawings of Italian art. Drawing manuals like these were common teaching tools for artists and amateurs alike, for drawing instruction began with learning to copy prints and drawings.