Art Institute of Chicago

The Large Crucifixion

Wolfgang Huber

Date

c. 1516

Medium

Woodcut in black on cream laid paper

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Wolfgang Huber was a member of the Danube School, innovative painters and printmakers of landscapes who were active around the Danube River in Austria and southern Germany in the early 16th century. This striking Crucifixion scene intersperses trees with the crosses at Calvary. The woodcut makes the landscape as important a character as Jesus, his mother, and the apostle John. The wind can be seen in the fluttering of Jesus’s loincloth and John’s garment, while the setting sun marks the end of Christ’s human life. Sunlight seamlessly glides down the Cross into the hills beyond, heightening the drama with impending darkness.

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