Man Of Sorrows With Hands Raised 1500

Albrecht Dürer created this engraving called ‘Man Of Sorrows With Hands Raised’ sometime in the late 15th or early 16th century. As a highly influential artist of the Northern Renaissance, Dürer often engaged with religious themes, reflecting the cultural and spiritual concerns of his time, but also the new interest in humanist thought. The image employs visual codes to communicate the suffering of Christ, such as the crown of thorns. Consider how Dürer may have intended this image to function within the religious and social landscape of the period. Was it meant for private devotion, or public display? Was it meant to reinforce existing religious norms or to challenge them? Was it made for the Church, or for the open market? To understand more, scholars delve into historical texts, religious treatises, and the economic conditions of the art market in Renaissance Germany. It is through this kind of interdisciplinary research that we can appreciate the full meaning of Dürer's work, not just as a static object, but as a dynamic participant in the social discourse of its time.