Cleveland Museum of Art

The Bible of the Poor (Biblia Pauperum), Pharaoh's Army Drowned in the Red Sea; Baptism of Christ; and Moses' Spies Returning with Grapes from Canaan Esau Selling Jacob his Birthright; Temptation of Christ; and Temptation of Adam and Eve

Date

c. 1465

Medium

woodcut, hand colored with watercolor

Culture

Germany or the Netherlands, 15th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This hand-colored leaf is from the blockbook Biblia Pauperum (Bible of the Poor), which served as an educational handbook for laymen and clerics. Blockbooks, in which images and text were carved in relief from a single block of wood, are the earliest form of printed text in Europe. On each page, two Old Testament episodes flank a New Testament scene, implying a connection between the stories. At left is Christ’s baptism between the Pharaoh’s drowned army and spies returning from Canaan. To the right is Christ’s temptation bordered by Esau selling his birthright to Jacob and the temptation of Adam and Eve. This sheet was hand-colored with a limited palette, so that black, for example, plays dual roles of the color of hair, and the shadow on a building.

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