Petrus geneest zieken met zijn schaduw before 1646

This small woodcut, made by Christoffel van Sichem II, depicts Saint Peter healing the sick with his shadow. The stark contrast and fine lines are a direct result of the materials used. Woodcuts like this are made by carving an image into a block of wood, then inking the raised surface and pressing it onto paper. It’s a relatively direct process, yet requires tremendous skill to achieve this level of detail. The labor involved in creating woodcuts had a social dimension. They were relatively inexpensive to produce, especially compared to engravings on metal, and were thus accessible to a wider audience. This made woodcuts a popular medium for disseminating religious imagery and moral lessons, like this scene of healing. Consider the contrast between the miraculous subject matter and the workaday process by which it was brought into being; a reminder that art, even when seemingly elevated, is always grounded in the material world and the labor of its making.