Broadsheet with the Virgin of Sorrows, flanked by instruments on the Passion 1906

This anonymous broadsheet with the Virgin of Sorrows, flanked by instruments on the Passion, was made with ink on paper. Look at the way the whole image is built up from tiny marks, like a pointillist painting gone grayscale! You can almost feel the hand of the artist, carefully plotting each line. The texture is so interesting, isn't it? So much detail squeezed onto one sheet. Those fine lines create depth and shadow, giving a sense of weight to the Virgin's robes and a ghostly glow to her halo. The little dice at the bottom of the print are so evocative, and remind me of the still life tradition. The broadsheet reminds me a little of the work of the printmaker, Francisco Goya, who, like the unknown printmaker of this piece, used the medium of etching to convey emotion and political statements. Both artists leave us with questions rather than answers, inviting us to contemplate the complexities of the human condition.